Last Monday at the ‘Chips in Denmark’ national summit, Hans Peder Mikkelsen, CEO of Topsil GlobalWafers A/S, during the session on ‘Infrastructure for chips’, delivered one message clearly: supply chain resilience doesn’t start at the top of the stack – it starts at the very base.
The semiconductor value chain is the most globally dispersed in modern industry. No single country holds more than a few links – and almost every link has a single point of dependence.
Denmark retains such a critical technology link in the upstream materials part of the supply network.
In public conversations, often dominated by cutting-edge nodes and advanced packaging, the humble wafer substrate risks being overlooked. Yet it is precisely this foundation that determines yield, performance, and resilience across the entire semiconductor value chain. Without stable, high-quality substrates, even the most sophisticated chip designs cannot scale.
As supply chains face increased scrutiny and fragmentation, strengthening substrate capabilities should be a strategic priority. This ‘invisible layer’ is becoming one of the most critical levers for Europe’s semiconductor ambitions.
The topic was addressed by another summit participant from Topsil, Hans Peder Wagner, moderating the session on ‘Chips for strategic resilience’: The purest silicon on Earth is made in Denmark – and the supply chains that depend on it can be made more resilient, starting here! “From materials science to defense manufacturing capacity, collaboration within the Danish/European ecosystems is paramount”, CEO Mikkelsen further asserted.
Point made.
Thanks to Danish Chips Competence Centre, Danish Industry, Danish Quantum Community and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark for hosting this important event
