The semiconductor crisis affects the world marketwith repercussions also on Italy: Europe is moving with the European Chips Act, a strategic plan which counts both on the contribution of Member States and on that of private investors and, among these, Intel announces itself to be present.
Live from Santa Clara, California Intel CEO Pat Gelsingerannounced a ten-year plan of investments in Europe, for a total of 80 billion euros so that we can increase the innovative capacity and resilience to crises that, in the future, should emerge.
Intel’s strategy, welcomed by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as essential for European technological emancipationwill contribute to the development of what have been defined as “technologies that we cannot yet imagine”.
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Italy was chosen, together with Ireland, Poland and Spain, as a center for research and development, as well as for the production of semiconductors and as a ring of foundry services. The current state, Intel is talking with our country to create a plant dedicated to the back-end phase of the manufacturing process, i.e. the separation of semiconductor chips and their verification. An investment of up to 4.5 billion euros which also includes the creation of about 5 thousand jobs, 1500 of which directly from Intel and 3500 between suppliers and partners. Also thanks to the solid partnership between ST Microelectronics of Agrate Brianza and Tower Semiconductor, a company that became part of the Intel group about a month ago, Italy will be a country on which the company will focus a lot.
Also noteworthy are the 17 billion euros invested by Intel for the construction, in Germany, of a center for the production of semiconductors and, in France, of a research and development center. There Germany it will also enjoy the creation of tens of thousands of jobs, divided between the 7 thousand necessary for the construction of the plants, 3 thousand permanent jobs for highly specialized technicians and thousands more as related. Intel also focuses heavily on Germany, to which it entrusts the role of Silicon Junction, that is, a pole of technological connection between all the innovation and production centers that Intel will have in Europe.
The Francefortified by the Plateau de Saclay, an area south of Paris known as the Silicon Valley Européenne, will be a favorite location for research and development and will be able to count on a thousand jobs, 450 of which already by the end of 2024.
In Gdansk, in Poland, Intel is increasing the potential of its labs by 50% by focusing on developing solutions in the fields of deep neural networks, audio, graphics, data centers and cloud computing; here the expansion is expected to be completed in 2023.
I chip made in Europe
One of the objectives of the European Chips Act is to enable Europe to push its innovative capital, so that the Old Continent can carve out a prestigious place in the global digital future. Intel wants to balance its global production chain by expanding into Europe, investing now and starting work within the first 6 months of 2023, counting on full operation during 2027 and thus providing technologically advanced chips by 2030.
Research, development and design are obviously fundamental e Intel will rely on European universities and suppliers to increase technology transfer and also to allow SMEs to access the most advanced technologies. All this can create that virtuous circle that can raise the European innovation potential and harmonize the silicon and equipment market in which Intel, in the last two years, has made purchases for 10 billion euros and which it intends to double by 2026. These are investments capable of attracting even the best talent from abroad, including entrepreneurs, innovators and technicians.
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After all, the gray and blue color of silicon is combined with the EU’s green intentions: being able to create a local semiconductor market will have effects also on the Green Deal, because more advanced and performing chips help to contain energy consumption. Intel wants to lead by example by ensuring it will be full by 2030 Power supply of its production processes with 100% renewable energy.
A strategy that began in 2021
Exactly one year ago, Gelsinger had announced the strategy of Idm 2.0 productionthe combination of Intel’s factory network and its suppliers, as well as investments of approximately $ 20 billion (€ 18.2 billion at current exchange rates) for new factories in Arizona, development of new processors and research and development for which it has signed an agreement with IBM.
It was part of the Idm 2.0 strategy a enhancement of Intel Foundry Servicesa service created to foster production capacities both in the US and in Europe, also leveraging the expansion of the intellectual property portfolio and a renewed organization of foundries (also not owned by Intel) to be able to better respond to the growing demand world of semiconductors.
The foundry is an integral part of the development and business models of microelectronics manufacturers and is based both on semiconductor fabrication plants and on a circuit of integrated circuit design each borne by separate companies. Many companies design only and others produce them for third parties, without having a proprietary design. They are expensive plants and require collaborations between several companies to be maintained. Intel plans to establish the leading foundry design center in Europe, offering design and collateral services to European and global industry partners and customers. They are part of this logic the acquisition of Tower Semiconductor, purchased in February 2022 for $ 5.4 billion, and the $ 1 billion startup acceleration fund. The goal is to produce more, increase the technological potential of semiconductors and become a supplier of choice for third parties.