Intel has decided to invest 80 billion euros over ten years (33 in manufacturing) to help fill the gap in the EU which, as foreseen in the European Chips Act, wants to double its current production share in the global market, going up from 10 to 20 percent. Italy would be entitled to 4.5 billion, but everything is still uncertain and the Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti is dissatisfied. Microprocessors are the heart of the entire digital universe, a heart that today beats mainly in two parts of the world.
In America (in particular in the United States where Intel is the leader) and in Asia (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea with China which has already made great strides). The new regional dimension of globalization makes it essential for Europe to reduce its gap. Not only. The war in Ukraine is also a war of chips suffice it to look at the efficiency of American anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons capable of identifying and targeting the least protected points, Turkish drones, Chinese frequency jammers, used by the Russians to confuse the firing of the rockets. Intel’s investment is not directly related to the new arms race, however microprocessors are inherently a dual technology.
Intel has chosen Germany as its strategic hub and its most important manufacturing location: two factories in Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, to produce chips based on Angstrom processes and also for third parties. The investment is 17 billion euros, the project is ready, construction will begin next year employing seven thousand workers, production is scheduled for 2027 and three thousand workers and technicians will be hired for an indefinite period. Big commitment, 12 billion euros, also in Ireland, where Intel has a plant in Leixlip. In France around the Plateau de Saclay – called the European Silicon Valley, twenty kilometers south of Paris – will be the hub for research, development and design with a thousand highly specialized jobs, concentrated in particular in supercomputing and in artificial intelligence. In Gdansk, Poland, the space of existing workshops will be increased by 50 percent. For Spain, Intel will enhance collaboration with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center.
It’s Italy? Great expectations, but results to be measured over time. The official statement announces “a potential investment” of up to 4.5 billion euros and specifies that discussions are still ongoing. The new factory is expected to create “approximately” 1,500 direct jobs to which 3,500 indirect jobs are added through suppliers and partners. The operations would begin between 2025 and 2027. The date is also uncertain, while for Germany, Ireland, France there are precise figures and deadlines. Giorgetti, who has focused heavily on the chip project, retires on the Aventine and will not participate in further negotiations.
Everything passes into the hands of Vittorio Colao, the Minister of Digital Transition, who saved an investment that at one point seemed compromised and pushed Intel’s proposal forward. Italy is the turn of the packaging, a delicate operation, but technologically less rich. Once the lithographic engraving has been produced and completed, the silicon wafer is cut into pieces called “Die” which are in turn inserted into two layers, the lower one houses the electrical and mechanical connections, the upper one protects the structure and dissipates heat.
This is the final phase to which the Italian plant should be dedicated. Where, it is not clear at all. There was talk of Catania because there is STMicroelectronics (the Italian-French public group number one in Europe) and of Turin in the Mirafiori plant, but the Intel technicians pointed out that in both cases the space is not enough. Veneto has come forward, the whole of Puglia is shaken: Foggia, Bari, Brindisi and Lecce. It should be remembered that Intel calls for robust government incentives, Germany and France have allocated a nice bundle of billions and got the production and design. The Italian government intends to focus on the chip supply chain where it can boast know-how and production capacity. If taxpayers’ resources need to be deployed – Mise ask themselves – why not invest in STM? Not to hinder Intel, but to increase competition and industrial potential.
The American group, moreover, has acquired the Israeli Tower Semiconductor which has a significant partnership with the Stm factory in Agrate Brianza. In this field, there are no zero-sum games. If taxpayers’ resources need to be deployed – Mise ask themselves – why not invest in STM? Not to hinder Intel, but to increase competition and industrial potential. The American group, moreover, has acquired the Israeli Tower Semiconductor which has a significant partnership with the Stm factory in Agrate Brianza.
In this field, there are no zero-sum games. If taxpayers’ resources need to be deployed – Mise ask themselves – why not invest in STM? Not to hinder Intel, but to increase competition and industrial potential. The American group, moreover, has acquired the Israeli Tower Semiconductor which has a significant partnership with the Stm factory in Agrate Brianza. In this field, there are no zero-sum games.