Interview with Yvonne Keil, board member of Silicon Saxony and Director Global Indirect Procurement at GlobalFoundries
Over the past two decades, the high-tech network Silicon Saxony has successfully established Europe’s largest micro-electronics site in the Dresden region. Globalfoundries, Infineon and Bosch are all located there, running some of the largest and most cutting-edge semiconductor factories in the world. As such, the region can act as a great reference case for Europe for how to successfully establish a semiconductor eco-system here. Yvonne Keil, board member of Silicon Saxony, is convinced that this commitment is worth the effort. As Director Global Indirect Procurement at GlobalFoundries, Keil’s remit includes responsibility for the construction of new production sites. She is calling for companies to take a targeted, differentiated approach when making investments.
Ms Keil, how did you get into the semiconductor industry?
Yvonne Keil: I completed a work placement at a semiconductor company when I was 16. I was standing in this massive, fully automated factory with complex manufacturing processes, and at the end I saw these tiny chips be produced. I found the whole thing fascinating, and I decided I wanted to work there. So I studied semiconductor and electrical engineering and off I went.
What developments in the field of semiconductor technology do you personally find most exciting right now?
Y. K.: The most exciting thing for me right now is the fact that you can find semiconductor technology in every aspect of our lives. You need hundreds of chips to drive a car – and when you work for a semiconductor manufacturer you can be pretty sure you’ve been involved in producing some of them. Or you look at your mobile phone and think – hey, I was involved in developing the display chip. Or when you want to connect with your friends and loved ones all over the world – it soon becomes clear that semiconductors are part and parcel of our daily lives. I find that truly fascinating.
Why do you think semiconductors are so highly valued?
Y. K.: We need semiconductor technology to meet the challenges of the future, as well as the ones we are facing right now. When I think about how to reduce my carbon footprint and lead a more sustainable lifestyle, I need to consider entirely new concepts of energy management and energy generation – and these almost inevitably involve microchips. If you think about new mobility concepts for cities and how to improve cars, you’ll find that semiconductors play a key role. That’s why semiconductors are so important for us nowadays.
Would you agree that microchips are the new crude oil, powering national economies?
Y. K.: Yes, I think that’s quite an apt description. Semiconductors are everywhere and they are indispensable. But it’s important to remember that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for the semiconductor industry. We don’t just need two-nanometre or five-nanometre chips – we need very different solutions to cover all the different aspects of our lives where semiconductor products are used.
Semiconductors are increasingly becoming something political – what does that mean for the industry?
Y. K.: Fundamentally, chip manufacturing is a complex process and the markets are growing. Looking back at recent years, we’ve no longer had the level of investment that was probably needed to be able to cope with the rising demand. But then Covid-19 came along and fast-tracked everything. Now, digitalisation has moved up a gear. Governments are now recognising that they also have to invest in production in order to safeguard their domestic capacities and support their industries and national economies. That’s a clear change of mentality. Chips are quite clearly part of every industry, and that is now being acknowledged.
In your view, what needs to be done to stop a bottleneck in semiconductor production from happening in the future?
Y. K.: We’re already taking the necessary steps. The semiconductor industry has started increasing capacity and is investing significant sums to do so. For example, GF is investing in a new factory in Singapore and is also expanding its sites in Dresden and the USA further. What’s more, politicians have now recognised the crucial role that the semiconductor industry plays for the future. We also need support from new, effective instruments such as the European Chips Act. But they will also need to be implemented at pace, to give a clear signal to companies that they can make further investments.
To achieve this, is it enough to simply build new factories?
Y. K.: No, that alone won’t be enough. We also need to expand the entire semiconductor eco-system, in other words, our suppliers will need to invest and expand their capacities as well. And it goes without saying that we need the necessary specialists to facilitate this growth.
Were politicians dragging their heels before; did they fail to take the measures required to safeguard chip supply chains?
Y. K.: It’s more a case that demand for semiconductors rose much faster than anyone could have predicted. Covid-19 really sped everything up in this respect – it’s meant that we’ve reached the next stage of digitalisation much sooner than we expected. Now, politicians, too, need to respond quickly to keep pace with developments.
What can politicians do to bring the semiconductor industry back to Europe again?
Y. K.: With the IPCEI Instrument, the European Chips Act and the US Chips Act, politicians have made key steps in the right direction. But it’s equally important to invest in the right technology at the right time and in the right place. You need to think very carefully about which specific fields of technology to invest in. As I mentioned before, there isn’t just one correct path and one correct technology, instead there’s a whole host of requirements to consider in the semiconductor industry. So success depends on having a range of innovative, differentiated solutions that can be used for lots of different applications and requirements.
What do you personally think about the European Chips Act?
Y. K.: It’s the correct step to take to make progress. With the Act, our government and the European Commission are underlining the critical role played by the semiconductor industry, and that politicians want to support it. But the investments and financing need to be made in the right technologies, in the right locations and at the right pace.
What could prevent this from happening?
Y. K.: Speed is of the essence. The relevant decisions need to be made very quickly and then implemented consistently.
How has Silicon Saxony succeeded in making the Dresden region one of the biggest micro-electronics and IT clusters in Europe?
Y. K.: Access to the right people was a key factor. Dresden was already an important micro-electronics region back in the days when Germany was split into East and West. After the reunification, when the first semiconductor firms were looking for a site, Dresden was quite simply the city with the necessary specialists; it had the right people with the right skills. Over the years – and it’s now been 60 years that the semiconductor industry has been in Dresden – we’ve built up an entire eco-system around the industry. Having the right mix of technological teaching and research capacities (we work closely with universities and the Fraunhofer Institutes, for example), major players and smaller suppliers in the semiconductor industry, as well as software companies, has been a major benefit. This mix has been instrumental to the success of the cluster.
What sets Silicon Saxony apart from other initiatives in this field?
Y. K.: It all started in the 90s with a “bottom up” initiative, in other words one from the supplier industry. Working together with the first semiconductor factory in Dresden, the aim was to raise the profile of the semiconductor eco-system in Saxony. The key difference to other organisations in this field is that our initiative is funded entirely by private financing, meaning it comes exclusively from the semiconductor industry and its suppliers. Of course, we also work closely with the government.
“We need different semiconductor solutions to cover the various aspects of our lives.”
What about your next generation of specialists and experts?
Y. K.: We all need them! We work in an incredibly interesting industry that needs experts and specialists in many different areas. We need engineers for operating large factories, as well as specialists for technology development and IT experts. It’s all about preparing the next generation for the challenges of the future.
What would you say to a young person who asked you why they should aspire to a career in the semiconductor industry?
Y. K.: The semiconductor industry is truly fascinating, and one reason for this is because it offers so many opportunities for young people. For example, looking back over my 18-year career, I worked as an automation engineer, then I was responsible for quality assurance in production, and now I work in procurement. Semiconductor manufacturing covers so many different areas… it’s great to be a part of it all.
What exactly is so great about it?
Y. K.: The fact that you can make the world a better place with technology. A passion for technology is something that binds people and cultures across the globe.