By a prominent leap to Europe’s chip goals, the European Commission permitted a 450 million euro relief package to be granted to Onsemi by the Czech Republic, whose prime objective is the construction of the first fully integrated Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductor facility in the EU. Rožnov pod Radhoštěm-based project is a local portion of the 1.64 billion euro total investment aiming at the technological independence of Europe and the minimization of chip manufacturing outside Europe.
It is a landmark for the technological prowess of the EU in Silicon Carbide which will pave the way for a completely new production chain—in the future, it extends from the growth of the crystal to the final products. Next-generation electric vehicles, fast-charging systems, and renewable energy infrastructure, all of which are at the core of the EU’s green transition, are the areas where SiC chips will turn out to be indispensable.
Onsemi commits to new training and skill programmes, research on future 200 mm SiC tech, and the provision of priority in order during supply shortages as a complement to the investment. The measures that have been introduced aim at not only building up Europe’s workforce but also its long-term semiconductor resilience.
The Commission gave the nod to the Czech support as per Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, determining that the aid meets the requirements of necessity, proportion, and that it is limited to only that part which is enough to trigger the investment. The officials stated that the scheme enables the EU to maintain a strategically important part of the chip supply chain, where the EU has insufficient production capacity, and, therefore, it is a resilience measure and not a competition-distorting one.
The new plant will be commercially operable in 2027. It will be a key node in Europe’s wider semiconductor ecosystem and instrumental in delivering the objectives of the European Chips Act once the plant goes into operation, which stipulates that supply chains have to be secured and a homegrown chip industry that is both competitive and sustainable has to be built.
This alone is a considerable leap forward in Europe’s ability to manufacture the complex power devices that are essential for the clean-energy and electrification goals, besides laying the foundations for the skilled workforce and industrial capacity Europe will require to remain a formidable contender at the global level.