Intel has announced that it could invest up to € 80 billion in Europe over the next decade to increase the region’s chip capacity and open its semiconductor plant in Ireland to carmakers. Pat Gelsinger, the company’s CEO, also said at the IAA car show in Munich that the company would announce the location of its two new large European chip plants by the end of the year.
Poland, where Intel is also present, is also in the picture.
The CEO said that “the goal is a total of € 80 billion for the semiconductor industry and a catalyst for the entire technology industry. “
Intel, the largest manufacturer of processor chips for PCs and data centers, announced in March that it intends to open its chip plants to outsiders. Gelsinger told Reuters in April that the company wants to start making chips for automakers in six to nine months to alleviate a shortage that has disrupted vehicle production worldwide. However, according to The EpochTimes, it is unclear whether the latest announcement means that Intel will meet this goal.
“Cars are becoming wheeled computers. They need us, and we need them too. The goal is to create a European innovation center in Europe for Europe, “said Gelsinger at the IAA Auto Show.
The” Intel Foundry Services Accelerator “is designed to help automakers learn how to make chips from Intel’s” Intel 16 ” with a process called chip manufacturing technology, to later switch to “Intel 3” and “Intel 18A” technologies.
These manufacturing technologies would be much more advanced than most of the processes currently used in the automotive industry. Intel said nearly 100 automakers and key suppliers, including BMW AG, Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and Bosch, have expressed support for its programs. An Intel spokesman did not confirm whether any of them had committed to participate as a buyer.
Gelsinger was quoted as saying that Intel would like the EU to provide state aid for Intel’s planned European investment efforts. The American chip giant sees automakers as a key strategic priority. Gelsinger explained that the company says chips will account for 20 percent of vehicle costs by 2030, a fivefold increase from 4 percent in 2019.
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