HSINCHU - Microchips are at the heart of our digital world. Without them, our smartphones and laptops do not work, our cars fall silent and the internet crashes. So it comes as no surprise that car factories are halting production due to a global chip shortage, China and the US are fighting a trade war over chips, and the European Union is investing billions in the chip industry.
In this project, freelance technology journalist Tom Cassauwers delved into these extremely complex, nanometre-precise objects. How chip factories are being built all over the world, high-tech mega-projects costing billions. How the ecological footprint of chips cannot be underestimated. And how smaller countries are trying to keep their heads above water in an age of technology-driven geopolitics.
Photo: © Johannes Plenio
PRINT/ONLINE
- Waarom bouwen we geen chipfabriek in Vlaanderen?, Trends, 10/02/2022.
- ‘We hebben een nieuw model van elektronica nodig’, MO*, 28/06/2022.
- De Verenigde Staten of China: wie wint de strijd om Israëlische technologie?, MO*, 6/07/2022.
- Taiwan struggles to reconcile climate ambitions and chip manufacturing, Al Jazeera, 25/12/2024.
- De geheimen van Taiwan en chipbouwer TSMC: goedkoper, betrouwbaarder en een onnavolgbare werkcultuur, Trends, 11/01/2025.
COUNTRIES
- Belgium
- China
- Israel
- Taiwan
- United States
