Altair Media

The EU Chips Act

Can Eindhoven’s photonic cleanrooms secure Europe’s technological sovereignty?

Semiconductors have become the fault line of modern geopolitics. The United States and China are investing aggressively in domestic chip production, treating semiconductors not as consumer goods but as strategic infrastructure. Europe, by contrast, spent decades optimising research while outsourcing large-scale manufacturing — until recent crises exposed how fragile that model had become.

With the EU Chips Act, Brussels is attempting a course correction. More than €43 billion in public and private investment is meant to double Europe’s share of global semiconductor production to 20% by 2030. The ambition is unmistakable. The open question is whether Europe can realistically compete on scale — or whether its future lies in technological differentiation.

That question increasingly points to photonics.

Finn the Duck Briefs Trump on Europe’s AI “Luxury Problems”

By Finn the Duck, Raving Reporter – live from a Dutch windmill

Washington, DC – At a joint presser on America’s skyrocketing national debt, President Trump grumbled: “Europe’s living the good life – croissants, vacations – maybe they could chip in more?”

Your feathered EU correspondent (me!) stepped up to explain why Europe is lagging in the AI race, despite its fancy “luxury problems”.

France: Mistral AI is blowing hot air, but language barriers kill the buzz. Ask “Who?” in English, get “Qui?” in French – they just say “Oui!” Total confusion.

Who Controls Light Controls the Future

Photonics, EUV lithography and Europe’s fragile technological advantage

Photonics is not a buzzword. It is the technology that carries the internet across oceans, enables chips to be etched at atomic scale and forms the foundation of future quantum systems. From fibre-optic communications to advanced manufacturing, photonics has become a critical enabler of modern societies. By 2030, the global photonics market is expected to exceed one trillion dollars. Yet at the heart of this rapidly expanding field lies a strategic chokepoint: extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

For now, that chokepoint sits firmly in Europe. ASML, headquartered in the Netherlands, supplies nearly all EUV lithography systems worldwide. These machines are indispensable for producing advanced semiconductors below seven nanometres — the chips that power artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and advanced defence systems. But in 2025, that dominance has been challenged, at least symbolically. China has unveiled a working EUV prototype. The message is clear: technological sovereignty is no longer theoretical. It is geopolitical reality.