INDUSTRY POLICY
NEXPERIA MANAGER STOKKERMANS CALLS FOR GREATER ‘ALIGNMENT’ OF DUTCH SEMICON ECOSYSTEM
‘SKILLS FOR PRODUCTION OF MICROLED, POWER AND MIXED-SIGNAL CHIPS ARE PRESENT HERE’ Effective coordination of technology and markets would allow the Dutch high-tech industry to achieve more. As far as semicon man Joep Stokkermans is concerned, there is room for the chain to respond more effectively to market trends in the semiconductor industry. For chip manufacturer Nexperia in particular, completing the ecosystem is necessary for innovating, developing and applying semiconductor back-end-technology and equipment – because there is a great deal of money to be made from that technology and in order to improve the balance of power with Asia and the US. ‘In order to keep pace, we need to stay at the forefront of all the knowledge-intensive process steps. Otherwise sooner or later we will fall behind.’
is concrete and verifiable. Where demand aligns with Dutch core competencies, Dutch industry needs to be ready to respond. A semiconductor product needs a front-end process and a back-end process. For our type of chips, the opportunity for the Netherlands lies in new back-and process technology and equipment. This will allow us to offer a unique value chain within Europe. There is a great opportunity for industry, research organisations and universities to define our priorities together.’
MORE FOCUSED CHOICES Joep Stokkermans asserts that ‘in today’s information age, it is more possible than ever to establish an approach to industrial markets and a good industrial strategy for the Netherlands that enjoys broad support’. ‘Based on the figures about emerging end markets, the chain can reach agreement on the core competencies that will have the greatest economic impact, resulting in much more focused choices. That would mean different choices for the semi-conductor industry’, says Stokkermans, who is also innovation director of Nexperia subsidiary ITEC, to which it has entrusted its back-end technology activities. Nexperia and ITEC want to Innovation manager Joep Stokkermans: ‘There is a great opportunity for industry, research organisations and universities to define our priorities together.’ Photo’s: Gerard Verschooten focus on a limited number of niches underlying which, he believes, are fast-growing markets worth billions: microLEDs for the he main way in which the industry He sees opportunities driven by the energy display market, power chips for automotive innovates is by fostering use-inspired transition and the European Chip Act. This and RFID chips for retail and logistics. basic research: useable technology means that Nexperia, which ships more than for which a fundamental research 100 billion products annually (10% of the ‘Outside the Netherlands, significant question still to be answered, explains global total of semiconductor products), resources are being put into these markets. innovation manager Joep Stokkermans. needs to fix its gaze outwards. ‘We are looking We see competitors and foreign governments ‘This type of research question needs to be for new semiconductor materials and ultrafast investing tens of millions in takeovers and answered in the next five years in order to assembly and testing equipment that will acquisitions in order to be able to compete. meet the rapidly growing global demand for significantly contribute to the transition The needs of those markets align perfectly high capacity power chips. At Nexperia we to electric vehicles and energy efficient with ITEC’s core competency: developing and are throwing our weight behind that effort, infrastructure for data centres. Market building equipment for the high-volume, but we can’t do it alone.’ demand within a time horizon of 5 to 7 years low-cost placement of ultra small chips.’
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Special High-tech The Netherlands - April 2022
