U.S. chip giant Intel has announced an initial investment of more than 33 billion euros, rising to 80 billion over the decade, to boost microprocessor production in the European Union, including setting up a mega-factory in Germany, as well as doubling the capacity of its facilities in Ireland, along with other projects in Italy, France, Poland and Spain.
This first phase includes the construction of two semiconductor factories in the German town of Magdeburg, with work to start in the first half of 2023 with the aim of being operational by 2027.
Intel plans to initially invest €17 billion in the construction of this production center, to be called Silicon Juction, generating 7,000 jobs during construction and 3,000 permanent high-tech jobs once work is completed, as well as tens of thousands of additional jobs among suppliers and partners.
The multinational also plans to continue investing in the expansion of its facilities in Leixlip, Ireland, where it will invest €12 billion to double manufacturing space and expand foundry services. Once completed, this expansion will bring Intel’s total investment in Ireland to more than 30 billion.
In addition, Intel has begun negotiations to enable the facility in Italy another factory, with an expected investment of up to €4.5 billion, which would create approximately 1,500 Intel jobs plus an additional 3,500 jobs between suppliers and partners, and whose operations will begin between 2025 and 2027.
In addition, the U.S. manufacturer plans to establish its new European R&D center in Plateau de Saclay, France, which will create 1,000 new high-skilled jobs, 450 of them as early as 2024. France will thus become Intel’s European headquarters for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence (AI) design capabilities, the innovation of which will benefit a broad set of industrial sectors, including automotive, agriculture, climate, energy, genomics, life sciences and security. In addition, Intel plans to establish its leading European foundry design center in France, offering design services and design warranties to French, European and global industry partners and customers.
In Poland, the U.S. firm plans to increase its lab space in Gdansk by 50%, with a focus on developing solutions in the fields of deep neural networks, audio, graphics, data center and cloud computing. The expansion is expected to be completed in 2023.
Labs in Barcelona
In Spain, Intel plans to establish joint labs with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center.
