The publication of the belated national semiconductor strategy last week was as disappointing as it was late.
The government’s pledge of £1 billion over the next decade to build domestic chip production pales in comparison with the hundreds of billions of dollars on offer under President Biden’s Chips and Science Act or plans by the European Union to hive off a part of global semiconductor production for itself by 2030.
Britain’s paltry attempt to get involved in the global chip wars shows who are the front-runners in this new age of green industrial policy. It is the US and EU that are trying to outcompete each other to match China’s economic might in clean energy technologies and raw materials, with the UK barely a player
