The US and European Chips Act–How Far Will They Bring Us on the Road to Technology Sovereignty
ABSTRACT
Supply constraints and geopolitical shifts have put a spotlight on the semiconductor industry and its complex supply chain. In turn, governments are striving to make their industries more resilient and build up chip capacity. The United States CHIPS and Science Act and the European Chips Act are the most discussed examples, but are they ambitious enough to make an impact? Are they setting the right priorities and addressing why the US and EU fell behind in global chip manufacturing capacity? Have all relevant parts of the supply chain (upstream, midstream, downstream) learned from the past and are they willing to contribute to reduce risk in the future? Lars Reger, CTO of NXP Semiconductors, will share his views and explain why international collaboration must be a part of the solution.
BIOGRAPHY
Lars Reger is executive vice president and chief technology officer of NXP Semiconductors. As CTO, Lars is responsible for managing new business activities and R&D in the focus markets of automotive, industry 4.0., internet of things (IoT), mobile, and connectivity & infrastructure. Before joining NXP, Lars gained deep insight into the microelectronics industry with a focus on the automotive sector. He began his career with Siemens Semiconductors as product engineer in 1997. His past roles at Infineon included head of the process and product engineering departments, project manager for mobile system chips, and director of IP management.
Prior to joining NXP as head of automotive strategy in 2008, he was responsible for business development and product management within the connectivity business unit at Continental. In December 2018, Lars was appointed CTO and has since then been responsible for the overall technology portfolio of NXP. Since April 2019, he has been a board member of the committee for digital economy, telecommunications and media in the German Industry Association. Lars is also on the board of directors of ITS World Congress and a member of the Forbes Technology Council. Lars earned a degree in physics from Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn and an MBA from London Business School.