jon heffernan, professor of semiconductor materials and devices at the university of sheffield and director of the national epitaxy facility, tells us more. it s part of a global battle to control the semiconductor industry, which has been undertaken by many countries. the 21st century is going to be a technological century and it is completely underpinned by semiconductors. you ve got semiconductors everywhere, from lighting to computer chips, yourfridge to your car. and the pace of innovation is accelerating and it is going to be more and more important. so each country around the world is actually considering very carefully what its strategy in this technological area is and what its economic strategy is, its security strategy is. and so this is just the latest example, particularly between china and the us, but there are other countries involved. some countries control different aspects of the semiconductor industry. some control the natural resources, the minerals and th
The world relies on China for up to 90% of the mineral supply to create clean energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines and nuclear energy reactors. Read more.