There is a very common expression that almost all of us use: plant the egg. And that is precisely what it would seem that Intel has done this week, since according to reports of the two FABs that it is going to create in Europe, the first already has a location and will be, how could it be otherwise given the investment, monstrous. Germany has the responsibility and the privilege of hosting one of the Intel’s FAB for the world’s most advanced chips to follow Moore’s Law. What will it look like and where exactly will it be built?
The European chip law is going to bring with it a wave of millions of dollars that nobody wants to miss because it involves subsidies (with restrictions and closed agreements) for the company that wants to build and establish itself on our territory does not need to invest as much money as doing it alone. Intel smells like meat and has set out to take the first bite, which will be in Magdeburg and according to the few leaked data, it will be an impressive build.
Intel and its FAB chip in Germany: Dresden versus Magdeburg
Curiously, the fight opposed two cities less known to ordinary mortals and yet they are formidably interesting from a tactical and logistical point of view. This without forgetting an important point that companies increasingly take into account when making investments of this type: the proximity of talent and qualified personnel.
Magdeburg beat Dresden and Penzing for various reasons. The first is that Intel needs an amount of space, surface available difficult to select in the current locations or technical areas in Europe and even more in Germany. The portion of land is so huge that it is no less than 300 hectares and based on the data provided on the land and the acquisition, one could say that we are undoubtedly facing a Mega FAB within this called the Eulenberg industrial area:
- Total gross area: 3,174,000 m²
- Largest contiguous area: 2,482,000.00 m²
- Of which non-buildable area: 2,482,000 m²
- Largest area available: 2,482,000 m²
More than 1,000 direct jobs
That’s the estimate Intel has so far given the more than 300 total hectares it needs for its Mega FAB. Logically, these are direct jobs and therefore there are no indirect ones, which will be thousands of others, since now the industrial park will see how the number of companies grows to capture the volume of logistics, hardware and personnel that Intel needs. .
That said and given the huge infrastructure required, the second Intel FAB in Europe remains a mystery, since there are several countries interested, among which it seems Italy and Europe, where it seems the country of the boot offers better conditions for now.
However, it will be the European Chip Law grants that will set the tone to follow, as it seems that depending on the strategic location, more or less amount of them are unlocked.
Rumor has it that there are infrastructures and companies that represent Intel’s interests is essential, but also that there are universities related to computer science to be able to extract direct talent. In this aspect, Barcelona and Valencia might have some advantage, but the huge extension of the pitch might be their problem. Italy has the advantage of already having Intel representation there, so it won’t be easy to beat our neighbors in this fight.