© Provided by Business AM
As the shortage of semiconductors slows down (among other things) the smartphone and car sectors, Intel has announced its ambition to open a new site. The ambitions of the American giant are overflowing, but they will take time to be implemented anyway.
Intel announced that it would invest 20 billion dollars in order to open a new production site for semiconductors. The infrastructure will include two factories and will employ 3,000 people. Its construction will give work to 7,000 construction workers.
The American chip giant chose Ohio and more specifically the city of New Albany, northeast of Columbus, to establish this new major project. Intel has so far no factory there: this is the first time in 40 years that the company has set up in a new American state.
As the New York Times notes, betting on a state where there are no chip manufacturing sites seems daring. In particular, it will be necessary to convince the suppliers of gas, chemical products and production machinery to join it. However, Ohio and New Albany offer the advantage of cheap land, as well as the opportunity to recruit engineering graduates from nearby Ohio State University.
« Silicon Heartland »
In an interview with Time, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the company expects the new site to become “the largest silicon manufacturing site on the planet.” “We helped create Silicon Valley,” he said, with the company having had its headquarters in Santa Clara since its founding in 1968. “Now we’re going to create the Silicon Heartland.”
The facility will initially cover 1,000 acres (404 hectares), but might eventually double in size. Intel plans to invest up to $100 billion in the site over the next decade.
Work will begin this year, for production which should be able to start in 2025.
Reduce US dependence on Asia
“These factories will create a new epicenter of advanced chip manufacturing in the United States, which will strengthen Intel’s domestic manufacturing pipeline,” Pat Gelsinger said in a statement.
Pat Gelsinger became Intel’s CEO in January 2021, a year that saw the US company lose its position as the world’s top semiconductor vendor (by revenue) to Samsung. Note that the Taiwanese behemoth TSMC is not included in this ranking, insofar as it focuses only on production – and not on design and marketing.
With its investments, Intel must enable the United States to reduce its dependence on Asian production centers, which have control over the market. “This investment is a huge win for Intel, for American industry, and for American consumers, who can expect lower prices as we bring home the production of the semiconductors that power our economy. said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
The Intel boss will meet President Biden at the White House this Friday.
