Global semiconductor industry sales were $439.0 billion in 2020. China has called chip independence a top national priority in its latest five-year plan, while U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed to build a secure American supply chain by reviving domestic manufacturing. Even the European Union is mulling measures to make its own chips.
Given our increasing dependence on semi-conductors in everything from cars and ATMS to phones and household appliances, what can Australia do to guarantee supply?
Cosmos speaks to an entrepreneur and a researcher about Australia’s opportunities – and threats – within the industry.
Our guests are Mike Nicholls, a partner at Main Sequence, Australia’s deep tech investment fund, founded by the CSIRO, and Professor Michael Fuhrer, the director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET), and a researcher at Monash University.
Speakers:
Mike Nicholls is an entrepreneur, investor and technologist with 30 years+ practical business experience across a range of industries. He is currently a partner at Main Sequence, Australia’s deep tech investment fund, founded by national science agency, CSIRO.
Professor Michael Fuhrer is the director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET), and a researcher in novel two-dimensional materials, semiconductors, metals, and superconductors.
If you’d like to listen to the full interview, listen to the podcast!
Originally published by Cosmos as Cosmos Briefing: the Semiconductor Shortage
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