US chipmaker Intel Corp on Tuesday unveiled plans to invest up to 80 billion euros (US$88 billion) across Europe as part of an ambitious expansion aimed at evening out imbalances in the global semiconductor industry that have led to big chip shortages.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the firm would invest the money over the next decade “along the entire semiconductor value chain.”
The firm plans to spend tens of billions of US dollars setting up or expanding chip production sites, and establishing research and development or design centers in Germany, Ireland, France and Italy.
“Why are we doing this? Because the world has an insatiable demand for semiconductors,” Gelsinger said in a Webcast.
Intel said that it is bringing its most advanced technology to Europe to address the need for a “more balanced and resilient” semiconductor supply chain.
EU leaders last month announced a US$47 billion “Chips Act” to help the continent become a major semiconductor producer and curb its dependency on Asian markets for chips, which act as the electronic brains for everything from vehicles to smartphones and game consoles.
Demand for chips has surged as the global economy bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic, but supply has not kept up because of bottlenecks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the announcement as the first major achievement under the Chips Act.
“I’m sure it will pave the way for more companies to follow suit,” said Von der Leyen, who wants the EU to double its share of global chip production to 20 percent by 2030.
The first phase of Santa Clara, California-based Intel’s investment plans include 17 billion euros to beef up its European production capacity with a leading-edge semiconductor fab “megasite” in Magdeburg, Germany.
The site is to include two semiconductor fabs that would make chips with Intel’s most advanced technology. If the European Commission gives approval, it is expected to break ground next year and become operational by 2027, creating 3,000 high-tech jobs.
German Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck welcomed the news, saying that it would boost “Europe’s digital sovereignty.”
The new facility would receive financial support from the German government.
The plans also call for 12 billion more euros of investment to expand Intel’s existing site in Leixlip, Ireland, by doubling manufacturing space and expanding its new foundry services business, which builds chips designed by other firms. That would take the company’s total Irish investment to more than 30 billion euros.
Intel said that it is also in talks with Italy to “enable a state-of-the-art back-end manufacturing facility,” which would involve a potential investment of up to 4.5 billion euros, and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
There are also plans for a research and development hub and a foundry design center in France, expanded lab space in Poland and a partnership with local researchers for an advanced computing lab in Spain.
Intel — which technology research and advisory firm Gartner says is the world’s No. 2 semiconductor maker — is also expanding in the US with a US$20 billion factory in Ohio.
●Origin：TaipeiTimes
●Link：https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2022/03/17/2003774906
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the firm would invest the money over the next decade “along the entire semiconductor value chain.”
The firm plans to spend tens of billions of US dollars setting up or expanding chip production sites, and establishing research and development or design centers in Germany, Ireland, France and Italy.
“Why are we doing this? Because the world has an insatiable demand for semiconductors,” Gelsinger said in a Webcast.
Intel said that it is bringing its most advanced technology to Europe to address the need for a “more balanced and resilient” semiconductor supply chain.
EU leaders last month announced a US$47 billion “Chips Act” to help the continent become a major semiconductor producer and curb its dependency on Asian markets for chips, which act as the electronic brains for everything from vehicles to smartphones and game consoles.
Demand for chips has surged as the global economy bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic, but supply has not kept up because of bottlenecks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the announcement as the first major achievement under the Chips Act.
“I’m sure it will pave the way for more companies to follow suit,” said Von der Leyen, who wants the EU to double its share of global chip production to 20 percent by 2030.
The first phase of Santa Clara, California-based Intel’s investment plans include 17 billion euros to beef up its European production capacity with a leading-edge semiconductor fab “megasite” in Magdeburg, Germany.
The site is to include two semiconductor fabs that would make chips with Intel’s most advanced technology. If the European Commission gives approval, it is expected to break ground next year and become operational by 2027, creating 3,000 high-tech jobs.
German Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck welcomed the news, saying that it would boost “Europe’s digital sovereignty.”
The new facility would receive financial support from the German government.
The plans also call for 12 billion more euros of investment to expand Intel’s existing site in Leixlip, Ireland, by doubling manufacturing space and expanding its new foundry services business, which builds chips designed by other firms. That would take the company’s total Irish investment to more than 30 billion euros.
Intel said that it is also in talks with Italy to “enable a state-of-the-art back-end manufacturing facility,” which would involve a potential investment of up to 4.5 billion euros, and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
There are also plans for a research and development hub and a foundry design center in France, expanded lab space in Poland and a partnership with local researchers for an advanced computing lab in Spain.
Intel — which technology research and advisory firm Gartner says is the world’s No. 2 semiconductor maker — is also expanding in the US with a US$20 billion factory in Ohio.
●Origin：TaipeiTimes
●Link：https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2022/03/17/2003774906
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