33 billion euros: Intel’s colossal investment plan for Europe detailed

If it is not directly about processors
Intel’s investment covers the entire semiconductor production chain.

After weeks, even months of rumors, negotiations and procrastination, Intel has lifted the veil on its investment strategy for Europe through the voice of its president, Pat Gelsinger.

A large production site in Magdeburg

Intel therefore confirms its massive investment plan for Europe and takes the opportunity to clarify things while rumors about an installation in France, Italy, even Germany or Poland had caused trouble. Intel therefore began its presentation by explaining the launch of the first phase of a vast plan of 80 billion euros.

A first phase supported by an envelope of 33 billion euros which should therefore affect six European countries. At the forefront, we find Germany, which will house, as the latest rumors suggested, “a mega-site for the manufacture of advanced semiconductors”. The site will include two production units located in Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt.

The German city has, according to Intel, ” world-class talent, superb infrastructure and an existing ecosystem of suppliers and customers “. Intel mentions an initial investment of 17 billion euros and provides for the “ creation of 3,000 permanent high-tech jobs at Intel and tens of thousands of additional jobs at its suppliers and partners “.

While the planning phase of the site has already begun, the construction itself should not begin before the first half of 2023 for a commissioning in 2027. Intel specifies however “ subject to approval by the European Commission “.

Spain, France, Ireland, Italy and Poland

Alongside this German structure, Intel has underlined the importance of the Irish site at Leixlip. He plans to ” double manufacturing space to bring Intel 4 process technology to Europe and expand foundry services “. When finished, ” expansion will bring Intel’s total investment in Ireland to over €30 billion “.

At the heart of various rumours, Italy will have a ” state-of-the-art back-end manufacturing plant “. This is about a ” potential investment of up to 4.5 billion euros and the creation of 1,500 jobs at Intel, to which would be added 3,500 jobs at suppliers and partners. The site goes hand in hand with the acquisition of Tower Semiconductor, an STMicroelectronics partner in Agrate Brianza, Italy.

For France, there is talk of a new European R&D center around the Plateau de Saclay. Intel talks about the creation of 1,000 new high-tech jobs, including ” 450 will be available by the end of 2024 “. For Intel, France will become Intel’s European headquarters for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) design capabilities “. In addition, Intel plans to establish its main European foundry design center in France.

In Gdansk, Poland, Intel announces to increase “ 50% of its lab space with a focus on developing solutions in deep neural networks, audio, graphics, data center and cloud computing “. An expansion that should be completed by 2023.

Finally, Intel is more discreet about its investment in the last country mentioned by Pat Gelsinger, Spain. ” Over the past decade, in Spain, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Intel have collaborated on an exascale architecture. Today they are developing a zettascale architecture for the next decade “.

While there are still some gray areas, Intel’s investment strategy in Europe is vast and involves several countries. Intel also emphasizes the support it provides to the ecological transition in Europe thanks to the cutting-edge technologies that will be implemented there thanks to ” more efficient chips reducing the power consumption of the next wave of digital hardware while supporting supercomputing and artificial intelligence solutions “. An ambitious program that will be deployed over several years.

Source: Intel