Although little known to many, the Dutch ASML is the tech giant on which almost every industry depends. Founded in 1984 and currently valued at $329 billion, it is the only company in the world capable of building the complex machines that make the most advanced microchips. With its latest invention, the High NA, the company seeks to redefine global electronics.
The result of a partnership between electronics giant Philips and microchip machine maker Advanced Semiconductor Materials International, ASML is the largest technology company in Europe by market value and one of the largest in the world. With more than 31,000 employees on different continents, it is estimated that its value will reach 500,000 million dollars by the end of 2022.
TSMC, Samsung and Intel are among the companies using ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine to create the transistors that make up the microchips in their computers and smartphones. The importance of transistors lies in the fact that they allow electric current to flow through a circuit. Therefore, the more there are on a microchip, the more powerful and efficient it will be.
The High NA machine will feature a 0.55 aperture lens, allowing manufacturers to efficiently build even more sophisticated microchips smaller than three nanometers in dimension. Compared to the current EUV, which is priced at about $140 million and consists of 100,000 components, ASML’s new machine will be larger, more expensive, and more complex. According to CNBC, the price of each High NA will be around 300 million dollars and it is expected that they will be available for a first contact from 2023, but it will not be until 2025 when they are used in large-scale manufacturing.
Shortage of microchips will last until 2023
Until that moment arrives, the industry and, consequently, numerous sectors, . According to the latest Deloitte report, this situation could last until early 2023.
The sectors most affected by the lack of microchips will be those that demand very advanced process loads (3, 5 and 7 nanometers), essential in data center servers and devices such as computers, mobile phones and tablets.
Another major victim of this situation will be the automobile industry, due to its increasing dependence on high technology. In Spain, the shortage of semiconductors has caused vehicle production to be 2.5% less in the first ten months of the year compared to the same period in 2020 and 26.7% less compared to the same period in 2019. , according to data from the manufacturers’ association (Anfac).
Despite this, global microchip sales will increase 20% in 2021, and are expected to rebound a further 9% to $574 billion in 2022, according to calculations by the Semiconductor Industry Association. The consultant’s report indicates that this growth will be accompanied by greater dependence on Taiwan, Korea, the US and China.
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