Chips without a plan: the Dutch semiconductor crossroads

In his landmark report “The future of European competitiveness,” Mario Draghi warns that European industry has fallen into a middle-tech trap. The automotive sector is the prime example: instead of radical innovation, leading European firms have been focused on incremental improvements to existing products. As a result, Europe has steadily lost technological relevance – and earning power – this century.

Against that backdrop, the Netherlands is something of an outlier. With companies like ASM and ASML, the country operates at the pinnacle of the high-tech sector. “In Asia, our value chain is the envy of many,” says Eelco Brinkhoff, CEO of Photondelta, shortly after returning from Semicon Taiwan. The Dutch government is also trying to broaden the technological base with targeted investments in integrated photonics and quantum technology.