Intel will spend up to 80 billion euros, or $88 billion, in Europe over the next decade. The U.S. chipmaker announced the plan on Tuesday.
The biggest piece is in Magdeburg, Germany. Two fabs there, at a cost of 17 billion euros in the first phase, would make chips with Intel’s most advanced technology. Construction is expected to begin in 2023 and production in 2027, pending European Commission approval. Intel expects 7,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent positions at the site.
Other countries get smaller shares:
Ireland: another 12 billion euros at the existing Leixlip site, doubling manufacturing space. That lifts Intel’s total there to 30 billion euros.
Italy: talks are under way on a back-end manufacturing plant worth up to 4.5 billion euros, with operations planned for 2025 to 2027.
France: a foundry design center and a research hub around Plateau de Saclay, which Intel expects to employ 1,000 people.
Poland and Spain: Gdansk lab space grows by 50 percent, and Intel will build joint labs in Barcelona with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center.
CEO Pat Gelsinger said the money would flow “along the entire semiconductor value chain.” On a webcast he put the reasoning bluntly: “Why are we doing this? Because the world has an insatiable demand for semiconductors, or chips.” Bringing the company’s most advanced technology to Europe, he said, would make the supply chain “more balanced and resilient.” CNET reported that about 80 percent of chipmaking now happens in Asia.
A first win for the Chips Act
EU leaders announced a $47 billion Chips Act last month. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Intel’s plan the first major achievement under it. “I’m sure it will pave the way for more companies to follow suit,” she said. The EU wants 20 percent of the world’s chip production by 2030, double its current share.
Intel is spending heavily at home too. It has announced a $20 billion fab site outside Columbus, Ohio.
Sources
- Intel Announces Plans to Expand European Chip Production
- Intel unveils $88 billion chipmaking expansion plan for Europe
- Intel Announces $88 Billion Megafab to Keep Chipmaking in Europe – CNET
Sources
- Intel Announces Plans to Expand European Chip Production
- Intel unveils $88 billion chipmaking expansion plan for Europe
