What if we won the chip race as well?

After a summer that gave us the victory of the national football team at the European Championships and the record number of medals at the Olympics, it could be electronics that gives us more satisfaction: Intel is looking to Italy as a possible location for a production centre for its chips.

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intel chips italy

by Virna Bottarelli

Last March, Pat Gelsinger, CEO of IntelLast March, Pat Gelsinger, CEO of the company, announced major plans to expand chip production: in addition to an estimated investment of $20 billion for the construction of new plants in Arizona, Gelsinger expressed the corporation's intention to strengthen its presence in Europe. In addition to the campus in Leixlip, Ireland, new locations could be added and it is not excluded that one of them could be established in Italy. Pat Gelsinger anticipated that the investment will involve a mega-fab, composed of 6-8 modules, costing 10-15 billion dollars each, for a total of about 100 billion dollars in a total project of 10-15 years. Intel's intention is to support the EU area in its ambitious goal of holding 20% of the world's production of cutting-edge microchips by 2030 (it is currently under 10%) and to rebalance geographically the production of semiconductors.

Chips on the European agenda

The interest in Italy was expressed by Intel's CEO during a visit to Rome at the beginning of July, during which he met Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Vittorio Colao and Giancarlo Giorgetti, respectively holders of the Ministries of Technological Innovation and Digital Transition and of Economic Development, and the heads of some Italian technology companies. Gelsinger's tour of Europe included France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, with the aim of discussing the importance of semiconductor production for the Old Continent.

Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the internal market, spoke about this in a meeting with Minister Giorgetti in July, announcing the objective of increasing the global share of microprocessor production in the EU from the current 10% to 20% over the next ten years. The shortage of electronic components, which according to observers will continue until 2022, has made it even more evident that Europe can no longer afford to be so heavily dependent on large Asian manufacturers. Intel itself, in a recent note, said that 'European leaders must make the necessary investments to ensure a vibrant semiconductor industry, build a resilient supply and expand innovation over the long term. Currently, it can cost 20-40% more to run a fab in Europe or the US than in Asian countries. Investment is therefore also needed from European countries, and thinking of our own, and of the resources needed to implement such an important project, it is inevitable to look at the billions made available by the "Next Generation EU" fund and the plans drawn up on how to spend them, contained in the "Pnrr". Interviewed by Riccardo Luna for "Republic"Gelsinger said: "Italy, at this moment, has a great prime minister. Then you have a great technological tradition, you are a land of excellent engineers. And finally there is the Recovery Plan. It's a great opportunity. The CEO of Intel also specified that the corporation could decide to "make a factory in one country, a research centre in another and a laboratory in yet another", developing a strategy that would bring advantages to the competitiveness of Europe as a whole. Finally, during the presentation of the financial results for the second quarter of 2021 on 22 July, Gelsinger confirmed that he would announce plans for the new American and European sites by the end of the year.

The cards we can play to win the chip race

Intel's idea would be to set up a centre in Italy dedicated to research and development activities, and it seems that the institutions are working to move on from this idea to something more concrete. On 3 August, Minister Giorgetti, Deputy Minister Gilberto Pichetto, the President of the Piedmont Region Alberto Cirio, the Mayor of Turin Chiara Appendino and the Vice-President of the Senate Anna Rossomando met to discuss, among other topics, the possibility of setting up Intel's headquarters in Turin. After the meeting, the Minister for Economic Development said: 'Mise has looked into the Intel issue in depth and I have also personally met the CEO in recent weeks. This is a project with an enormous impact on the whole territory and its economy. I thought that we already have an infrastructure area for this realisation, which is that of Mirafiori in the unused part. In my opinion it meets all the requirements, it is not the only candidate but the most qualified one. We don't know what Intel will do, but given the size of the investment, including the state contribution, I believe that we will arrive at a widespread network on European territory, in this logic I think of 2 or 3 realities, one of which in Italy. I believe that in this way there could also be the green light from Italy for the State's investment of more than eight billion lire, and that there are reasonable hopes for Turin, but we should not create easy expectations and enthusiasm. We must all work together on the dossier'.


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