HiPEAC Vision, a Blueprint for European Survival

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Europe’s Chips Act 2.0 Must Embrace the ‘Next Computing Paradigm’

The European Union’s ambitious drive for technological sovereignty is entering a critical second phase. With the original Chips Act having successfully mobilized capital—total commitments reached nearly €69 billion—the subsequent phase, Chips Act 2.0, must fundamentally shift focus from headline-grabbing factory commitments to securing the next generation of computing architecture and talent. 

This strategic pivot finds its intellectual anchor in the HiPEAC Vision 2025, a roadmap arguing that Europe’s future relevance depends not merely on manufacturing silicon wafers, but on mastering the distributed, sustainable computing paradigm that Artificial Intelligence (AI) now demands.

This recalibration is made urgent by the reality of the U.S. “Great Reallocation,” where aggressive trade policy and massive subsidies are pulling European corporate champions, their capital, and their intellectual property across the Atlantic, straining Europe’s indigenous industrial base.

From centralized cloud to distributed intelligence

The HiPEAC Vision, setting out a course for European computing research over the next decade, centers on the concept of the Next Computing Paradigm (NCP). The NCP represents a crucial convergence of the computing continuum, spanning high-performance exascale computing, cloud data centers, and embedded devices, redefining how systems interact. HiPEAC views this shift as a dynamic collection of “federated and distributed services” that operate across this continuum.

Marc Duranton, the HiPEAC Vision editor-in-chief, argues the EU needs this blueprint because European computing technology companies have “lagged behind.” At the same time, counterparts in the United States and China have grown “stratospherically.” 

The NCP, infused with the exponential progress of AI, is specifically designed to leverage Europe’s strengths, such as its robust capacity to develop “edge and on-premise devices,” complex cyber-physical systems (CPS), and industrial automation tools. 

Crucially, the short-term recommendations propose using the emergence of “distributed agentic AI” to lay the groundwork for the NCP technology, serving as a blueprint for a more generic and omnipresent system. This model emphasizes local processing and federation, aiming to reduce reliance on centralized, foreign hyper-scalers for critical data security and infrastructure needs.

The EU Chips Act crossroads

Every single member state of the EU is rallying together in a bold Dutch-led initiative to strengthen the EU’s Chips Act. This groundbreaking effort, called the “Semicon Coalition,” was launched in March 2025 by the Netherlands, in collaboration with eight other forward-thinking member states.

While the first phase of the Chips Act successfully attracted foreign investment commitments, including major projects in Germany and France, a deep-dive assessment shows “structural limitations that threaten its long-term efficacy.” 

Furthermore, the current framework is heavily skewed toward “First-of-a-Kind” (FOAK) facilities, leaving the broader supply chain—design firms, equipment manufacturers, and key materials suppliers—undersupported.

Industry sentiment remains skeptical of the EU’s core target: seizing 20% of the global semiconductor market by 2030. According to a SEMI Europe consultation, “90% of respondent members deem this target unachievable,” citing a core disconnect: the lack of assured market demand in Europe remains “a primary deterrent to investment.”

To remedy this policy flaw, SEMI Europe advocates for a fundamental shift in the incentive toolbox. They strongly recommend that the Chips Act 2.0 mandate that Member States adopt a framework for “harmonized tax credits for semiconductor R&D and CAPEX.” 

“Our findings underline the need for a more resilient supply chain and forward-looking Chips Act that supports innovation and front-end manufacturing to further strengthen Europe’s ecosystem with focus on materials and equipment suppliers, design and advanced packaging to ensure long-term resilient technological sovereignty,” said Laith Altimime, President, SEMI Europe.

Additionally, tax credits offer “predictability and lower administrative overhead” compared to complex grants and are particularly effective for supporting Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and upgrading legacy facilities. Aligning with the HiPEAC vision, investing in the SME ecosystem is vital, as SMEs drive disruptive innovation.

The U.S. capital magnet

The urgency for a cohesive European strategy is heightened by aggressive U.S. industrial policy. Following the enactment of the “Genesis Mission” executive order and the threat of a “100% tariff on imported semiconductors,” global technology players are reshoring billions of dollars in infrastructure investment to the United States, creating a palpable “capital drain” from Europe.

European industrial champions have been compelled to participate in this Great Reallocation. Nokia, for instance, recently pledged a $4 billion investment in the U.S. This commitment marks a pivot for the Finnish telecom giant, shifting R&D toward “optical chips”—silicon photonics—to supply the internal wiring of new AI data clusters, positioning the company as a “trusted” supplier to the U.S. security state. 

Similarly, Ericsson expanded its smart factory in Texas to ensure compliance with federal procurement rules. Yet, even as they comply, European corporate values clash with American industrial realities; Ericsson’s internal mandate that contractors adhere to “Net Zero” climate goals has “triggered a backlash” from U.S. contractors, exposing the tension between European environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals and the industrial labor market.

The broader geopolitical consequence is clear: the U.S. has weaponized its deregulation. The combination of massive U.S. incentives and threats has forced the European Union to reconsider its regulatory landscape, with the European Commission recent “digital omnibus” initiative, proposing changes delaying the rollout of the high-risk rules under the AI Act for “up to 16 months,” effectively “pausing regulation to prevent further capital flight.”

Sovereign future by securing chip design

To avoid becoming merely a consumer market for technology designed and manufactured elsewhere, Chips Act 2.0 must adopt the philosophical underpinnings of the HiPEAC Vision: prioritize the design and toolchain ecosystem.

The establishment of the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) to replace the KDT JU aims to address this, with objectives focused on building advanced design capacities and establishing a Virtual Design Platform (VDP). 

This VDP could “simplify and accelerate the process of going ‘from the lab to the fab’” for SMEs and startups, democratizing access to complex design tools. The effort must accelerate through the support of crucial technologies championed by HiPEAC, such as chiplets and open-source hardware like RISC-V, which lower barriers to entry and reduce dependence on dominant non-EU manufacturers.

By anchoring its strategy in the distributed intelligence and sustainability focus articulated by HiPEAC, and by implementing the industrial support mechanisms advocated by SEMI, Europe can evolve the Chips Act from an emergency measure into a coherent, long-term industrial strategy. This transition secures Europe’s position not just as a location for foreign factories, but as a sovereign architect of the next digital future.

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