This just in, Intel Corp is going to be spending big in the next five years as part of a company-wide initiative to construct new factories and expand already existing facilities.
According to an article released by Reuters, Intel has released that they plan on using the $19.5 billion in loans and grants they had approved this year to further the construction of plants in four U.S. states all through 2027. This is coming off the heels of the CHIPS and Science Act being passed, furthering the company’s stated mission to produce cutting-edge superconductors.
The company plans on constructing new facilities in Ohio and Arizona, while already existing facilities in New Mexico and Oregon are being planned to undergo modernization fit to current industry standards. As it currently stands, Intel’s investment in Ohio is stated to be the largest private-sector investment in the state’s 2021-year history.
The CHIPS and Science Act, passed by President Biden in 2022, authorized wide-scale funding for research and manufacturing efforts for new semiconductors in the United States. An estimated $8.5 billion in government funding is reported to be invested in Intel, with President Biden himself making plans to visit the company’s Ocotillo campus in Arizona to formally announce the preliminary agreement.
Despite being the birthplace of the superconductor, according to a statement made by the White House, the U.S. is currently responsible only for the production of less than 10% of them globally, prompting the passing of the CHIPS and Science Act to give us a leg-up in their production for the next few years and boost that percentage up to 20%.
In a statement made this Wednesday, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger was optimistic about the upcoming expansion.
“Today is a defining moment for the U.S. and Intel as we work to power the next chapter of American semiconductor innovation,” Gelsinger said. “AI is supercharging the digital revolution and everything digital needs semiconductors. CHIPS Act support will help to ensure that Intel and the U.S. stay at the forefront of the AI era as we build a resilient and sustainable semiconductor supply chain to power our nation’s future.”
Despite this, Gelsinger also stated that he believes another round of funding from the CHIPS Act would be needed before they can re-establish themselves as a key player in semiconductor production to rival other companies like TSMC and Samsung who are benefitting from overseas manufacturing facilities rather than strictly being a one-country operation.
In addition to the prospective boom that the semiconductor industry is set to go through in the next few years, the production of these new facilities is estimated to create close to 30,000 jobs.
The production of new factories is not the only effort that Intel has been making in recent years to increase their production output. As an investment measure, they announced a decade-long $100 million investment effort in superconductor-related research and education, collaborating with universities and colleges all across the U.S. Half of those funds were said to be allocated directly towards facilities in the Ohio area, with the rest of it to be distributed nation-wide.
