“We are building some of the largest factories in the world, to produce the smallest objects in the world.” In Davos Pat GelsigerCEO of Intel, takes stock of the American giant’s great plan to return to the global leader in the production of microchips. A plan that involves billions of dollars in investments in the United States and Europe, but which does not include Italy. “Right now there is nothing (no plans, ndr) active, we are focused on the factories in Germany and Poland.”
It seems like the final word on the hypothesis, first put forward by Intel itself and then frozen, of having a large factory of the American giant in our country. In 2022 the American company, looking for locations for its new European factories, had raised the possibility of building an advanced “back end” one in Italy, dedicated to the assembly and packaging of microprocessors. The discussions, including on the decisive state aid to support the investment, began with the Draghi government and continued with the Meloni government, but with the passing of the months the Italian factory seems to have dropped down the priority list of Intel, which will build a huge foundry in Germany and has meanwhile also announced a large test facility in Poland. A year ago Gelsiger himself had said discussions with the government were still ongoing and that a decision would be made by the end of 2023. Now it seems to have been made: even if Gelsiger, diplomatically, says that “no country is excluded”, the ‘Italy is not on the list of projects that the company is carrying out at the moment.
The announcement should not be a bolt from the blue for the government. In recent weeks, the Ministry of Economic Development, owner of the dossier, repeated somewhat resignedly that the Italian offer was on the table and that the ball was in Intel’s court. With the passing of the months, and the formalization of investments in other European countries, the prospect of the American company placing a flag in Italy had progressively receded. But the fact that the project has now gone off the radar still represents a setback in the Meloni government’s “Chips Act”, the strategy to expand Italy’s presence in the strategic semiconductor supply chain. In Italy, Intel will be among the companies that will participate in the Chips.it Foundation, the center for semiconductor design that is being created in Pavia. But its mega factories will be elsewhere.
The one in Germany, which will be built in Magdeburg, is in the planning phase. Intel says that Berlin’s budget problems, which also concern the special fund to subsidize industrial investments, will not call into question those dedicated to the factory. The plan is to start construction “within the year”, after getting the green light from Brussels for state aid. “The goal is for the United States and Europe to become competitive with Asia again in chip production,” Gelsiger said.