The paper investigates structural shifts in an exemplary greentech sector, the value chain of semiconductors, between 1980 and 2018 with the aim in mind to uncover risks inherent in the configuration of the value chain. As this sector has seen an unprecedented transition from highly integrated device manufacturers to disintegrated modular value chains and is in the midst of a third wave of reintegration, it serves as a case in point to study potential risk sources based on patent data (WIPO’s Patentscope). Tentative conclusions on a governance of these types of value chains are drawn which take into account the conflicting developments of digitization of manufacturing (industry 4.0) and the large-scale sustainability transition underway in most industrialized countries.