With the European Commission expected to propose a revision of the European Chips Act over the coming days, I am sharing a few resources for policymakers, public affairs professionals and anyone trying to better understand the technology and industrial ecosystem this law will shape.
Semiconductors are everywhere today. It is difficult to overstate how central they have become to life as we know it, or how disruptive it would be if access to them disappeared overnight.
This is why chip manufacturing is increasingly shaped by geopolitical competition: few technologies are as critical to the functioning of modern societies, economies and militaries, powering everything from our phones and cars to datacentres and electricity grids.
At the same time, the semiconductor industry is global and the technology is mind-bogglingly complex, which makes chip manufacturing extraordinarily expensive and supply chains dependent on a surprisingly small number of companies and countries.
All of this means that semiconductor policy requires real expertise. Poor decision-making on chips can cause broad and lasting damage.
With this in mind, below a short list of resources I have found useful. The emphasis is on non-technical introductions, including videos and podcasts, to make it easier to get started in the complex world of semiconductors.
Start here
Chris Miller (2022): Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology (if you don’t have time for the book, here a very short version: Semiconductors explained in 16 mins | Chris Miller)
Veritasium (2026): The World’s Most Important Machine (for more, read Marc Hijink’s excellent book Focus: The ASML Way)
European Court of Auditors (2025): Special report 12/2025: The EU’s strategy for microchips (assessment of the existing European Chips Act)
EETimes (2025): Europe’s Chips Act Stumbles Over Its Own Rigidity and (2026): How Europe Actually Finances Semiconductor Investments
Congressional Research Service (2023): Semiconductors and the Semiconductor Industry and (2025): Taiwan’s Role in Global Semiconductor Supply Chains
OECD (2025): Mapping the Semiconductor Value Chain
McKinsey (2026): Hiding in plain sight: The underestimated size of the semiconductor industry
European Parliamentary Research Service (2026): Chips act 2.0 briefing
EU Industry Advisory Group (2026): Industry Policy Blueprint for Semiconductor Sovereignty, Competitiveness and Resilience
EU Member States (2025): Semicon Coalition statement
Jan-Peter Kleinhans (2024): The Missing Strategy in Europe’s Chip Ambitions
U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (2023): Assessment of the status of the microelectronics industrial base in the United States
Acquired (2021): Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) episode (they also have great episodes on Nvidia, etc.)
NYT (2026): 18,000 Reasons It’s So Hard to Build a Chip Factory in America
Nikkei Asia: Can China build its own ASML? (for more, read this report: U.S. House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party: Selling the forges of the future)
Maria Demertzis (2026): Lessons in economic security: the case of Nexperia (or, more advanced: U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (2024): Public Report on the Use of Mature-Node Semiconductors)
Corey Richard (2023): Understanding Semiconductors. A technical guide for non-technical people (if you want a primer on the technology itself)
What to add?
This list is clearly only a starting point. I’d welcome suggestions on what to add.
Finally, we at DIGITALEUROPE have also been very active on semiconductors (some of the resources above cite our work, so I am including our recent papers below).
DIGITALEUROPE (November 2025): Chips Act 2.0: From emergency response to strategic industry development – DIGITALEUROPE
DIGITALEUROPE (March 2026): Chips Act 2.0: From subsidies to European ecosystem competitiveness – DIGITALEUROPE
Fabian Bohnenberger 