A broad group of companies active in the chip sector - united in ChipNL - is calling on the government to invest in the Dutch chip sector. They say these investments are needed, among other things, to safeguard the competitive position of the sector.
This has been reported by the NOS and BNR, amongst others. ChipNL has shared its appeal in an email with the Cabinet and MPs from a number of relevant parliamentary committees. In total, around 30 companies have joined ChipNL. Among others, chip equipment manufacturers ASM and ASML, as well as chip manufacturers NXP and Nexperia, have signed the appeal. Others include Philips and start-ups such as Alexera AI and Nearfield Instruments.
100 to 150 million euros on an annual basis
The parties are calling on the cabinet to invest an annual sum of 100 to 150 million euros in the Dutch chip sector over the next six years. The parties themselves promise to make a sum of 100 to 200 million euro available on an annual basis. This will total up to 2.1 billion euros.
Investment is needed, according to ChipNL, to safeguard the competitive position of the Dutch chip sector. Among other things, by strengthening cooperation between different parts of this sector. These include manufacturers of chip machines, organisations that design chips and companies that ultimately produce the chips.
'We are tempted to invest there'
Among other things, the parties point to temptations from abroad to invest there. If such temptations are absent in the Netherlands, this could lead to some of the growth of Dutch companies going abroad. "We are being pulled in all kinds of countries. In countries where we operate, we get a nice hot shower. We are enticed to invest there. And if that happens to a lesser extent or not at all in the Netherlands, there is naturally a greater chance than some of that growth will go abroad," Paul Verhagen, chief financial officer at ASM, told NOS.
Núria Barceló Peiró of chip manufacturer NXP calls fair competition important. "Some companies in this sector earn a lot. But it has to be fair competition. And if that is not the case, because other regions do fund it, we have to start doing the same in the Netherlands. Otherwise it is very easy to go abroad," he told NIS.
Project Beethoven
Earlier, the cabinet and the Eindhoven region allocated 2.5 billion euros to keep tech companies in the region. The investment is part of a plan also known as 'Project Beethoven'. Former Economic Affairs Minister Adriaansens called the chip sector of great importance for the earning model of and employment in the Netherlands.
Of the €2.5 billion made available, €1.7 billion comes from the national government. The Eindhoven region is funding the rest itself. Specifically, the money is for developing talent, infrastructure and housing. Think about improving highways and rail links.
Project Beethoven followed warnings from ASML, which expressed concerns about the business climate in the Netherlands. Top executive Peter Wennink warned that if the business climate did not improve, ASML could shift investments in further growth abroad.
ASML allowed to expand despite objections from local residents
Incidentally, not everyone is happy with the rapid growth of tech companies in the Eindhoven region. For instance, ASML wants to build new cleanrooms between the Kempenbaan in Veldhoven and the A67 motorway for the production of chip machines. However, a number of local residents worried about noise pollution, light pollution and the impact on them, and went to court. Among other things, they wanted ASML to build part of the new building five metres below ground level, which would make the building partly underground.
However, the Council of State has ruled that the appeal lodged by local residents against ASML’s plans is unfounded. It ruled that ASML’s operational processes do not permit the building to be constructed partly underground. For instance, chip machines must remain stable until they have been stabilised and packaged, and any unexpected movements could cause damage. It is therefore not possible to transport the machines out of a building via a ramp.
The Council of State also declares concerns regarding noise pollution unfounded. It points to noise caused by traffic on the Kempenbaan and A67, stating that the noise level of work traffic masks the noise caused by ASML's activities.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: brookhaven via Pixabay
