The US chipmaker plans to invest over €80 billion in Europe in the next decade to ease a global shortage of semiconductors.
Intel has unveiled plans for a massive chipmaking site in Germany as part of a planned €80 billion investment in Europe over the next decade.
The US company said the goal is to create “a next-generation European chip ecosystem” and help tackle the ongoing global shortage of semiconductors, which has plagued the continent’s carmaking industry.
With an initial investment of €33 billion, including €17 billion for the German plans, Intel’s spending will help meet surging demand for chips used in computers, cars, smartphones, and other gadgets, as well as reduce in the long run Europe’s reliance on Asian suppliers.
The chipmaker is spreading its investments around half a dozen countries, boosting its existing factory in Ireland, setting up a design and research facility in France, and a packaging and assembly site in Italy.
Last month, the European Commission set out plans to encourage chip manufacturing in the European Union, with proposed new legislation to ease state aid rules for chip factories and enable €15 billion in additional public and private investment.
The Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, welcomed Intel’s latest announcement, and said the bloc’s new Chips Act would make the continent “a leader in the global semiconductor production”.
Where will the new chip plants be built?
Intel will set up two factories in the German city of Magdeburg, creating 7,000 construction jobs, 3,000 permanent jobs at the company, and tens of thousands of additional jobs across suppliers and partners, it said.
The company will invest an additional €12 billion in an Irish facility which will take its total investment in Ireland to more than €30 billion.
It is also in talks with Italy for a back-end manufacturing facility for a potential investment of up to €4.5 billion and plans to start operations between 2025 and 2027.
In France, Intel plans to build its new European research hub, creating 1,000 new high-tech jobs.
The company will also increase its lab space in Poland and plans to establish joint labs with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center in Spain for advanced computing.