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Study, as part of the government’s upcoming semiconductor
strategy, will consider how to grow chip design start-ups and
testing facilities as well as bring together industry,
customers and government to address shared challenges
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Semiconductors underpin almost every electronic device on the
planet with the UK among world leaders for chip design
A new national institution could be established as part
of plans to boost the infrastructure underpinning the UK’s
industry through the government’s upcoming semiconductor
strategy.
The strategy will aim to unlock the full potential of British
microchip businesses, support jobs and skills to grow the UK’s
domestic industry and ensure a reliably supply of semiconductors.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is
today commissioning a research
project to look into the feasibility of new national
initiatives to bring the nation’s industry together to tackle
shared challenges and help businesses scale up.
It will look at whether better access to prototyping and
manufacturing facilities for chip firms is needed to tackle
barriers to innovation and grow the industry. It will also cover
opportunities to make specialist software tools more available
for start-ups and ways to develop cutting-edge packaging
processes, the point in the supply chain where chips are prepared
for use.
Semiconductors are materials which conduct electricity more than
insulating substances like glass, but less than pure conductors,
like copper, and can be altered to meet the electrical needs of
a circuit or device. They are found in almost every
electrical circuit powering device from phones and cars to
ventilators and power stations.
The UK’s semiconductor industry has expanded rapidly over the
last decade, with global revenue increasing by 95 per cent
between 2012 and 2021. The UK has established a number of major
industry strengths, including in chip design, research and
compound semiconductors.
Digital Secretary said:
We rely on semiconductors - they are in everything from our
smartphones, kitchen appliances, and cars all the way through to
the supercomputers that support our weather reporting, energy
sector and countless other areas of our economy.
In the UK we are leading the world in areas including design and
research. We want to build on these successes and keep our
semiconductor sector on the cutting edge.
This study will help us meet our ambition and could lead to a new
national institution and greater research facilities.
The study will consider how to improve infrastructure in five key
areas: industry coordination, silicon prototyping, open-access
manufacturing for compound semiconductors, advanced packaging and
intellectual property.
The results will inform how the government could deliver on some
of the ambitions set out in the forthcoming semiconductor
strategy, which will be published as soon as possible and is not
dependent on the completion of the feasibility study.
The proposed initiative is one of many options under
consideration and does not represent the full breadth of the
strategy.
The study will set out the delivery model a national initiative
could take to have the most positive impact on the industry,
including whether or not the different infrastructure
capabilities are centralised in one organisation.
Notes to editors:
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The invitation to tender for
this research is live on The Crown Commercial Service.
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The budget available for this contract is £700,000 - £900,000
excluding VAT.
