The Company Intel has committed to investing 17 billion euros in Germany to a build a state-of-the-art semiconductor production site. This marks the beginning of an ambitious attempt to attract global chipmaker into the European region.
The California-based company has committed to spend 33 billion euros in a number of European countries, part of a plan to devote 80 billion euros to the region over the next 10 years. France will become home to a new chip research center, and the company will expand its existing production site in Ireland. Intel also announced it is negotiating with Italy about opening a new packaging site.
The plant in Magdeburg, Germany will attempt to produce chips smaller than 2 nanometers, something the company has yet to achieve. The announcement is part of Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger’s bid to win back market share by developing the latest technology.
During the 1990s, the EU accounted for nearly 20% of the world’s silicon wafer production, according to figures cited by Brussels. Now it has fallen to about 10%. CEO Pat Gelsinger’s focus on Europe comes at a time when significant subsidies are being rolled out by the European Union, which is keen to claw back some of its share of the chip market after collapses in recent decades.
The EU announced plans last month to free up public funding for the production of chips considered “first of a kind” in Europe, and has recently revealed an investment plan of 45 billion euros in public and private money to fund the project. The EU has now set itself the ambitious goal of making 20% of the world’s chip supply by 2030.
“Europe will be a key player across the entire chips value chain, including the fast-moving market of cutting-edge technologies below 2nm chips produced in Europe,” Breton stated.
A “true European project” that creates thousands of jobs and “confirms that Europe is an attractive place to invest in.” With those words, the EU’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton welcomed Intel’s announcement.
Worldwide shortages have particularly hurt the auto industry which is increasingly reliant on the electronic components, and local plants and guaranteed supply could win him a slice of that growing market. The vision for Intel in the future is of a company that manufactures semiconductors for other companies, even rivals, and that does it with the best production technology. By committing to Europe and Germany, Intel plans to speed up the acquisition of new customers.
