Intel Announces Initial Investment of Over €33 Billion in EU

Intel announced the first phase of its plans to invest as much as 80 billion euros in the European Union. The investment will be provided over the next decade along the entire semiconductor value chain - from research and development (R&D) to manufacturing to state-of-the-art packaging technologies.

The announcement includes plans to invest an initial 17 billion euros into a leading-edge semiconductor fab mega-site in Germany, to create a new R&D and design hub in France, and to invest in R&D, manufacturing, and foundry services in Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Spain. With this investment, Intel plans to bring its most advanced technology to Europe, creating a next-generation European chip ecosystem and addressing the need for a more balanced and resilient supply chain.

“Our planned investments are a major step both for Intel and for Europe. The EU Chips Act will empower private companies and governments to work together to drastically advance Europe’s position in the semiconductor sector. This broad initiative will boost Europe’s R&D innovation and bring leading-edge manufacturing to the region for the benefit of our customers and partners around the world. We are committed to playing an essential role in shaping Europe’s digital future for decades to come,“ said Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel.

The investment program is centered around balancing the global semiconductor supply chain with a major expansion of Intel’s production capacities in Europe. In the initial phase, the company plans to develop two first-of-their-kind semiconductor fabs in Magdeburg, Germany. Planning will start immediately, with construction expected to begin in the first half of 2023 and production planned to come online in 2027, pending European Commission approval.

Intel plans to initially invest 17 billion euros, creating 7,000 construction jobs throughout the build, 3,000 permanent high-tech jobs at Intel, and tens of thousands of additional jobs across suppliers and partners. Intel is also continuing to invest in its Leixlip, Ireland, expansion project, spending an additional 12 billion euros and doubling the manufacturing space to bring Intel 4 process technology to Europe and expand foundry services. Once complete, this expansion will bring Intel’s total investment in Ireland to more than 30 billion euros.

In addition, Intel and Italy have entered into negotiations to enable a state-of-the-art back-end manufacturing facility. With a potential investment of up to 4.5 billion euros, this factory would create approximately 1,500 Intel jobs plus an additional 3,500 jobs across suppliers and partners, with operations to start between 2025 and 2027. This would be in addition to the foundry innovation and growth opportunities Intel expects to pursue in Italy based on its planned acquisition of Tower Semiconductor. Tower has a significant partnership with STMicroelectronics, which has a fab in Agrate Brianza, Italy.

In total, Intel plans to spend more than 33 billion euros on these manufacturing investments. By significantly increasing its manufacturing capacities across the EU, the company would lay the groundwork to bring various parts of the semiconductor value chain closer together and increase supply chain resiliency in Europe.

Around Plateau de Saclay, France, Intel plans to build its new European R&D hub, creating 1,000 new high-tech jobs at Intel, with 450 jobs available by the end of 2024. France will become Intel’s European headquarters for HPC and AI design capabilities. HPC and AI innovation will benefit a broad set of industry sectors, including automotive, agriculture, climate, drug discovery, energy, genomics, life sciences, and security - greatly improving the life of every European. In addition, Intel plans to establish its main European foundry design center in France, offering design services and design collaterals to French, European, and worldwide industry partners and customers.

In Gdansk, Poland, Intel is increasing its lab space 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. These investments will further strengthen Intel’s relationships with European research institutes. Intel is also developing partnerships in Italy with Leonardo, INFN, and CINECA to explore advanced new solutions in HPC, memory, software programming models, security, and cloud. Over the past decade in Spain, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Intel have been collaborating on exascale architecture. Now, they are developing zettascale architecture for the next decade. The supercomputing center and Intel plan to establish joint labs in Barcelona to advance computing.