Why it matters: US President Joe Biden and Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger attend Friday’s highly anticipated event in New Albany, Ohio the groundbreaking ceremony. The event marks the launch of Intel’s state-of-the-art semiconductor facility program, following the recently enacted Create Beneficial Semiconductor Production Incentives (CHIPS) and Science Act. The 1,000-acre site has enough real estate to support up to eight manufacturing plants.
Due to funding delays related to CHIPS and the Science Act, officials have postponed a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for July. The event marks an official milestone in Intel’s manufacturing roadmap and an important step for the company to compete with incumbent semiconductor manufacturers around the world. The CHIPS Act, passed in August, will provide $52.7 billion in incentives and tax breaks for U.S. companies engaged in semiconductor R&D, manufacturing and workforce development.
The state-of-the-art facility in NSW will advance Intel’s technology, increase overall semiconductor availability in the U.S. market, and reduce the general reliance on outside manufacturers such as TSMC and Samsung. Currently, Asian semiconductor manufacturing operations produce more than 80% of the world’s chips and other semiconductor-related components.
According to Intel’s original plan, The new $20 billion manufacturing campus will employ more than 3,000 skilled workers, earning an average annual salary of $135,000. Those numbers are likely to increase over time, Gelsinger said. Intel bosses previously said the passage of the bill could lead to Intel’s investment of more than $100 billion. These figures do not include the more than 7,000 skilled workers needed to build the actual facility.
Biden and Gelsinger were not the only dignitaries at the event. Earlier this year, Finn Ashby, a local 8-year-old elementary school student, was spotted by company representatives at a local Hartford fair building robots and participating in other children’s activities in an Intel-sponsored tent. Impressed by his enthusiasm, Intel representatives contacted Finn’s family and invited him to the groundbreaking ceremony. Gelsinger introduced the young attendee, joking that the young tech enthusiast would one day be a CEO replacement.
The new manufacturing facility will produce semiconductors and other components used in automotive technology, computers and mobile devices. Intel senior vice president Randhir Thakur told The Columbus Dispatch that the facility will be “the most advanced fab in the country and on the planet.” Thakur currently leads Intel’s new foundry services business line, which will be directly supported by the new Ohio manufacturing facility.
Intel plans to complete initial construction in Ohio and begin semiconductor manufacturing sometime in 2025. The new facility will undoubtedly attract other jobs and businesses directly related to the semiconductor manufacturing and distribution industry.
