German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger on Monday signed an agreement preparing the structure of a pair of semiconductor services in the eastern Saxony-Anhalt city of Magdeburg.
Scholz Intel’s investment in services, the largest foreign direct investment in Germany’s history.
“Today’s agreement is a milestone for Germany as a high-tech production location, and for our resilience,” Scholz said. “With this investment, we are technologically reaching the world’s most productive and expanding our own functions for ecosystem progression. “and the production of microchips. This is good news for Magdeburg, for Germany and for the whole of Europe. “
Intel predicts the structure will charge about 30 billion euros ($33 billion) and create about 3,000 jobs. It expects services to be online by 2027.
The project, first discussed in 2021, was questioned, usually amid doubts about the financial backing the German government might be offering and that Intel might want after last quarter’s poor financial figures.
Last year, Germany provided some 6. 6 billion euros in grants for the project. Monday’s announcement was the result of months of behind-the-scenes talks.
The Berlin government did not release a new figure on Monday, but the authorities told several German media outlets that the new figure represents about a third of the project’s value, or just under 10 billion euros.
In its press release, Intel claimed that the agreement provides “increased incentives added by the government, reflecting the expanded scope and conversion of economic situations since the site’s initial announcement. “But he did not cite any figures.
European countries have rushed to lure PC and semiconductor chipmakers, with brands in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan blamed for the largest share of global production, to boost their supply chains.
High demand and flea shortages caused in part by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have helped draw attention to the problem. The same applies to some extent to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which shows how temporarily an earlier economy might have to be. marginalized in excessive circumstances.
Deputy Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck described the agreement as “a contribution to strengthening European sovereignty. “
The plans still require green approval from the European Union, but the Berlin government is positive on this front. This is a broader push to build more chip and semiconductor production capacity in the EU.
In the eastern German city of Dresden, for example, U. S. company Infineon plans to expand its services and create another 1,000 jobs.
In Roclaw, Poland, Intel plans to build a chip factory that will assemble microprocessors. And U. S. company Wolfspeed plans to build a trendy chip factory in the western German state of Saarland.
Last year, the EU and the US The U. S. government has unveiled plans to use taxpayer money to attract more production.
The Magdeburg semiconductor plants are expected to be part of a larger high-tech business park in Magdeburg, the capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, to attract suppliers and similar companies.
Dubbed “Silicon Junction”, Magdeburg is not noted for its valleys, but is known as a well-connected modal point in east-central Germany, situated more or less between major cities such as Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Bremen, Hannover and Hamburg.
Intel CEO Gelsinger said the allocation is expected to create about 3,000 new high-tech jobs, as well as potentially tens of thousands more in the supply chain.
“Building the ‘silicon bond’ in Magdeburg is a critical component of our Intel expansion strategy. Combined with last week’s announcement of our investment in Wroclaw, Poland, and the Irish sites we are already operating on a large scale, this creates a lounge of wafer capacity to complement unparalleled packaged products and a major step towards a balanced and resilient supply chain for Europe,” said Gelsinger.
msh/rs (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
While you’re here: Every Tuesday, DW editors take a look at what’s going on in German politics and society. You can register here to receive the weekly e-mail newsletter Berlin Briefing.