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The tuning of an advanced semiconductor factory equipped with machines with avant -garde lithography It costs up to 30,000 million euros. This is precisely what will cost the plant that Intel will build in Magdeburg (Germany) If the project finally goes ahead. And, as we tell you at the beginning of last November, this company has decided delay the start of construction of this factory until 2029 or 2030.
Initially the works were going to start during the first half of 2023, but The negotiation of subsidies forced to delay this date until the summer of 2024. However, Finally Intel and the German government agreed as a construction start date May 2025. Anyway, the four or five years of lag planned by this company are a consequence of the delicate situation in The one that is intel.
The cost of energy is crucial to preserve the competitiveness of a factory
The center of the conversation on this occasion is not occupied by the Magdeburg plant, although we stay in Europe; It is monitored by the factory that Intel has in Leixlip (Ireland). These facilities began producing integrated avant -garde circuits In the Intel 4 node In September 2023, and they are also manufacturing semiconductors in the Intel 3 node. This plant is equipped with equipment of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) produced by the Dutch company ASML, and has a fundamental role in Intel infrastructure to serve its European clients.
Intel is paying for electricity in Ireland that in the US or Israel
As we have seen in the first lines of this article, the cost derived from the tuning of a last niche plant is very high, but, in addition, Intel has just stumbled with a problem in his Leixlip factory: The price of electricity in Ireland. According to this US company, this cost amounts to 15 cents per kilovatio houra figure that is approximately double high as in the US or Israel, which are the venues of some of its most advanced semiconductor production plants.
As we can intuit, the price of electricity paid a chip factory has a direct impact on the final cost of the integrated circuits it produces. And, therefore, also in its competitiveness. Intel has rushed to ensure that the future of the Leixlip plant is assured due to the very important role he plays in his infrastructure, but in Rte They argue that he is negotiating with the Irish government to find a way to reduce the cost of electricity that he is currently paying. Presumably it is likely that the State finally assume a part of the cost of energy.
Image | Intel
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