billions of dollars in investments and comprehensive assistance
” It said that the manufacturer of the most advanced lithographs in the world was planning to move its headquarters from the Netherlands due to problems with infrastructure and logistics. But now, it seems, everything has changed: officials have decided to help the company solve all these problems. Details under the cut!
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What's happened?
The country's government has decided to immediately allocate 2.5 billion euros for the development of infrastructure in the Eindhoven region, where ASML's headquarters and production facilities are located. Investments will be provided to improve education and intensify housing construction in this region in order to create favorable conditions for the further development of the company.
The project in question is called the Beethoven Project. It is designed for several years at once. Among other measures, officials announced a reduction in the tax burden on ASML, although details have not yet been announced. In exchange, the company's management will continue to invest in business development in the Netherlands and will not move its headquarters.
“In taking these measures, the Cabinet assumes that ASML will continue to invest and maintain its statutory, financial and operational headquarters in the Netherlands,” the Dutch government said in a statement seen by Reuters.
The allocated funds will be used to modernize the transport network, including roads, buses and trains. In addition, investments will be made to improve the quality of technical education and training to meet ASML's demand for skilled workers. Housing projects are also part of the region's growth plan.
The company has already stated that it has a very positive attitude towards the authorities' decision.
“We prefer to pursue a significant portion of our growth plans in the Netherlands, provided they are supported by favorable business conditions,” said Monique Mols, head of media relations at ASML, in a statement published by Bloomberg.
What was the company unhappy about and what was it going to do?
ASML is having difficulty recruiting foreigners, among whom there are many good specialists. In addition, blackouts occur from time to time, which leads to unpleasant consequences – uninterrupted energy supplies are extremely important for chip production. And standards regarding the impact on the environment are also gradually becoming more stringent.
The main motive for entering the international market is lost profit. ASML cannot sell advanced modern equipment to China, which costs billions of US dollars. Moreover, even those systems that are already in China cannot be serviced by the company. The reason is still the same – the difference in interests between the states and the Middle Kingdom.
Another problem, as mentioned above, is the difficulty of hiring foreign citizens, among whom there are very competent chip production specialists. Now in the Netherlands, immigration laws are gradually being strengthened, so the company is wary that it may find itself without employees from other countries.
The lithograph manufacturer was planning to build several factories outside the state. It was planned to implement this plan over the next few years, which would give the company the opportunity to produce approximately 600 DUV units per year. In addition, in a year ASML is going to produce 90 EUV installations per year. And this is billions of US dollars, which will allow the company to operate and expand unhindered.
Using systems from ASML, it is possible to produce new generation chips, and in large quantities. We are talking, first of all, about processors that are produced using 4- and 3-nm technical processes. A little later, the same equipment will be used to produce 1- and 2-nm chips. Of course, it’s worth remembering that all these nanometers in the last couple of years are just “parrots” in which the characteristics of processors are measured. But, in any case, we are talking about modern chips.
Not ASML alone
The fact is that in a few years, China may not even need the company’s lithographs. Huawei Technologies has managed to begin production of modern semiconductor components using advanced technological processes. The Chinese organization SiCarrier, which supplies the appropriate equipment, helps with this. The two companies have now co-authored a patent on the SAQP technology. It makes it possible not to use lithographs from ASML, but to do it on your own.
In the case of Huawei and SMIC, this is the only method that increases transistor density using tools that the contract chip manufacturer already has. SAQP enables the production of more complex chips than those SMIC already produces for Huawei, including the Kirin 9000S.SiCarrier.
In addition, Huawei is now building new factories for the production of semiconductor elements and systems in China. The state, according to representatives of the association, has allocated about $30 billion to support Huawei’s work.
It is quite possible that if China succeeds, then after some time ASML will have a serious competitor. For now, of course, it’s too early to talk about this, but all the prerequisites for the emergence of such a situation exist.
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