Semiconductor cluster could go global – Cairns
WALES must seize the global opportunities from creating the world’s first cluster for compound semiconductors, says Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns.
Mr Cairns was in Newport yesterday for talks with a range of stakeholders behind the cluster project, which is being driven by IQE, one of Wales’ leading technology firms and compound semiconductor (CS) manufacturers.
The cluster (known as CS Connected) has seen IQE partnering with Cardiff University and other hi-tech firms already in the sector in south Wales, such as SPTS and Microsemi, as well as the UK Government-backed Compound Semiconductor Catapult Centre.
It promises to create at least 2,000 new hi-tech jobs, with salaries that are twice the Welsh average. It could also see 50 new firms created.
IQE’s wafer technology goes into chips, which then end up in technology applications from aerospace to healthcare, as well as mobile phones – where it is powering facial recognition sensors in the latest Apple iPhone.
Mr Cairns hosted the the meeting at Newport Wafer Fab – the UK’s largest semiconductor centre and the chip foundry for the compound semiconducter cluster.
Also in attendnace was Richard Burn, Trade Commissioner for China, who was in Wales to learn first-hand about the nation’s growing expertise in the sector. His visit following his meeting with Mr Cairns at the recent GREAT Festival of Innovation in Hong Kong.
Mr Cairns said: “If we want Wales to be at the vanguard of the hi-tech revolution, we need to up our stakes – and our vision must be global. That is why I was delighted to welcome the HM Trade Commissioner for China to Newport.
“To realise our global ambitions for the compound semiconductor sector, Government and businesses need to work hand in hand. That is what our Modern Industrial Strategy is all about.
“The UK Government will continue to lay the foundations and develop the international relationships – opening doors and taking down barriers. But it is ultimately our enterprising businesspeople like those around the table today who will make the most of those new opportunities.
“The time has come to promote Wales’ pioneering prowess in compound semiconductor technology on a global scale.”
Wales has a wealth of advanced semiconductor expertise in the form of IQE, SPTS Technologies, Newport Wafer Fab and Microsemi, who, along with academic partners and the UK Government’s £50m compound semiconductor applications Catapult, form the world’s first Compound Semiconductor cluster, CS-Connected.
Dr Drew Nelson, chief executive of IQE, said: “Compound semiconducter technologies are fast becoming a critical part of the entire global semiconductor industry (worth over $400bn a year), enabling faster, more power-efficient and higher-functionality chips to be made, and which also harness the incredible properties of light. The UK has always had a strong position in early-stage development of CS technologies, but over recent years we have been building the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster, to fully exploit the commercial potential for the UK.
“The CS Connected companies are therefore delighted that Alun Cairns has recognised the importance of the sector, not only for the future of the UKs new Industrial Strategy, but on a global basis across almost all major industrial, consumer, healthcare and communications industries.
“His involvement in helping promote the world’s first CS cluster on an international basis is greatly welcomed, demonstrating the major benefits of industry and Government working hand in hand. The full strategic support of the UK, Welsh and local governments will be a critical enabler for the expansion of the cluster.
“We are developing breakthroughs in IP technologies which will form the foundation of the fourth industrial revolution. Working as a unique collective, we firmly believe we can create many thousands of hi-tech jobs in Wales and throughout the UK, driving up GVA significantly and enabling many of our industrial partner companies to introduce innovative products based on compound semiconductors to the global marketplace, thereby accelerating the UK’s international competitiveness.”