Intel’s chip factory plan in Europe, valued at $100 billion, creating a vertical supply chain

Prior to this, Intel considered establishing a new fab in Europe to expand production capacity to provide sufficient manufacturing capacity to better implement the IDM 2.0 strategy. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger went to Europe in April and May for a series of inspections and visits and met with relevant people in the EU political and business circles to discuss the possibility of Intel establishing a new fab in the European continent and seek subsidies for its projects.

According to the Financial Times report, Intel’s new chip factory plan in Europe is similar to a group of factories of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which will build multiple fabs in the same area. In the first phase, approximately $20 billion will be invested to build two fabs, and then six fabs will be built in phases. The factory will eventually have eight fabs, which will become a semiconductor manufacturing base worth $100 billion.

Merely building a leading semiconductor manufacturing facility is not Intel’s final plan. It is Intel’s final goal to establish a vertically integrated semiconductor supply chain. Greg Slater, vice president of Intel’s global regulatory affairs, believes that Intel is fully capable of creating a full-ecosystem project that will benefit Europe. Intel’s management proposes to establish a vertically integrated supply chain with government subsidies in Europe, but the huge plan is too dependent on the government. There are too many influencing factors, and the result is difficult to determine.

Intel will adopt a modular design on the chip in the future, in order to use different processes in its own and third-party wafer fabs to maximize performance. At the same time, create a world-class Intel foundry service (IFS) to ensure process development and production capacity.