The European Sting is Your democratic, independent and top quality political newspaper specialized in European … – The European Sting
The European Sting – Critical News & Insights on European Politics, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Business & Technology – europeansting.com
The European Sting is Your democratic, independent and top quality political newspaper specialized in European Union News. Unique Features: iSting & Harry Sting
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.
The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €2 billion Italian measure to support STMicroelectronics (‘ST’) in the construction and operation of an integrated chip manufacturing plant for Silicon Carbide (‘SiC’) power devices in Catania, Sicily. The measure will strengthen Europe’s security of supply, resilience and digital sovereignty in semiconductor technologies, in line with the objectives set out in the European Chips Act Communication. The measure will also contribute to achieving the digital and green transitions.
The Italian measure
Italy notified the Commission of its plan to support ST’s Catania Campus project to build and operate an integrated chip manufacturing plant for SiC power devices. SiC is a compound material used to manufacture wafers that serve as a base for specific microchips used in high-performance power devices, such as in electric vehicles, fast-charging stations, renewable energies and other industrial applications. The integrated plant will cover all the manufacturing steps from the raw material to the finished devices, namely power transistors and power modules.
The aid will take the form of an approximately €2 billion direct grant to ST to support its investment worth €5 billion in total. The project will enable the development of a large-scale manufacturing facility for high performance SiC chips, based on 200mm diameter wafers that will be processed into modules and other devices used for instance by the automotive industry, in Europe and globally. The facility is planned to be operating at full capacity in 2032.
Under the measure, ST agreed to:
The project builds on technologies that have been and will be developed as part of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (“IPCEIs”) for research and innovation in microelectronics approved by the Commission in December 2018 and in June 2023. On 4 March 2024, ST applied for the recognition of the Catania Campus as an integrated production facility under the European Chips Act. This process is independent from the State aid assessment.
The Commission’s assessment
The Commission assessed the Italian measure under EU State aid rules, in particular Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’), which enables Member States to grant aid to facilitate the development of certain economic activities subject to certain conditions, and based on the principles set out in the European Chips Act Communication.
The Commission found that:
On this basis, the Commission approved the Italian measure under EU State aid rules.
Background
On 8 February 2022, the Commission adopted the European Chips Act Communication. It is part of a comprehensive Chips Act package, which also included the European Chips Act that entered into force on 21 September 2023.
In the European Chips Act Communication, the Commission recalled that investments in new advanced production facilities in the semiconductor sector are important to safeguard the EU’s security of supply and supply chain resilience, while generating significant positive impacts to the wider economy. The Commission recognised in that Communication also a number of factors relevant for a case-by-case assessment directly under Article 107(3)(c) TFEU.
Today’s approval is the third decision by the Commission based on these principles. On 5 October 2022, the Commission approved, under EU State aid rules, an Italian measure to support ST in the construction and operation of a SiC wafer plant in Catania using 150mm technology. In addition, on 27 April 2023, the Commission approved a €2.9 billion French aid measure to support ST and GlobalFoundries in the construction and operation of a new microchips manufacturing facility in France.
The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case number SA.107594 in the State aid register on the Commission’s competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.
The €2 billion Italian measure approved today supports a unique integrated facility for silicon carbide chips. It will strengthen the European semiconductors supply chain and ensure our access to a reliable source of power efficient chips used for example in electric vehicles and charging stations. This will support our digital and green transitions and help create high-skilled employment, while limiting possible distortions of competition
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy
May 31, 2024
May 31, 2024
May 31, 2024
May 30, 2024
May 30, 2024
May 30, 2024
May 30, 2024
May 30, 2024
May 29, 2024
May 29, 2024
More EU Picks…
April 29, 2024
April 17, 2024
December 28, 2023
December 13, 2023
December 1, 2023
More i-Stings
© 2024 The European Sting. All Rights Reserved.
Return to top of page
Powered by WordPress.com.
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
Continue reading
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
Continue reading