Intel German fab in doubt

“There is no more money available in the budget,” the German finance minister Christian Lindner (pictured) told the FT, “we are trying to consolidate the budget right now, not expand it.”

Intel had planned to build a €17 billion fab complex but costs of energy and materials have now pushed that up to €20 billion. Originally Germany offered €6.8 billion in subsidies but Intel is now said to be asking for €10 billion

However, if Intel decides to increase the size of its investment, the size of the subsidies would also go up. “It’s logical that if the scale of the investment is increased, then the level of subsidy would also rise,” said Sven Schultze, the economy minister for Saxony-Anhalt

Intel’s  reason for wanting  more subsidy – as stated last March – was:  “Disruptions in the global economy have resulted in increased costs, from construction materials to energy.” The Ukraine war is said to have increased Magdeburg electricity prices from 8 eurocents per kwh to 40 eurocents,

Intel had planned to build a cutting edge fab capable of running its 20A, 2nm process, starting in 2027.

It is the only EU fab project that is aiming at leading edge production –  the ST-GloFo fab, the Wolfspeed and Bosch fabs and the proposed TSMC fab are all for trailing edge processes.