It’ll be a macro microchip plant.
Semiconductor maker Intel announced this week that it could invest up to $100 billion to build what could become the world’s largest chip factory in an attempt to put an end to the global shortage in semiconductors — and take back Intel’s title as the top chip manufacturer, which it lost to Samsung in 2021.
The new plant, announced on Friday during a White House event with members of the Biden Administration, would be built on a 1,000-acre site in New Albany, Ohio, and is expected to create 3,000 jobs, according to Intel Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger, and would begin with an initial investment of $20 billion, and could grow to $100 billion should plans to build eight plants at the so-called “silicon heartland” come to fruition.
Biden cheered Intel’s plans as he pushed for congressional funding to help boost chip production in the United States, which some say relies too heavily on supply chains dependent on conditions and countries on the other side of the globe.
To that end, the Senate has already passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, which promises $190 billion to help American companies to compete with Chinese firms, along with $52 billion to increase semiconductor production in the U.S.
On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a competitiveness bill would come before the House soon.
Biden said he wanted to see the bill sooner rather than later, as chip shortages have adversely affected supply chain bottlenecks, causing slowdowns in the production of a myriad of products including computers, smartphones, video game consoles and cars.
“I want to see Congress pass this bill right away and get it to my desk,” Biden said. “Let’s do it for the sake of our economic competitiveness and our national security.”
Intel isn’t only investing in Ohio. The company broke ground on two $20 billion plants outside Phoenix, Arizona in September, increasing its number of plants at its Chandler campus to six.
[Reuters] — Vince DiMiceli