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Intel has agreed a deal with the German government for €10 billion ($10.9 billion) in subsidies for a new chip plant in the country, despite Germany’s finance minister saying just last week that it would not offer more cash.
The news comes hard on the heels of a new fab in Israel plus a facility in Poland for the company.
The German federal government and the Santa Clara chipmaker have signed a revised letter of intent regarding the planned wafer fabrication facility to be built at Magdeburg in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Intel confirmed shortly before publication.
Intel said its expanded investment in the site is now expected to add up to more than €30 billion ($32.7 billion), of which about €10 billion ($10.9 billion) will be subsidies from the German government, reflecting the expanded scope and change in economic conditions since the site was first announced.
That announcement came early last year, and the agreement then was that Intel would get €6.8 billion ($7.3 billion) in subsidies towards the project, said to amount to about 40 percent of the estimated construction costs at the time.
The chipmaker had been pushing the federal government for an increase on this for months, claiming that rising energy and raw material prices were pushing up its costs, but as recently as last week, finance minister Christian Lindner had said there was no more money available.
Referring to the site at Magdeburg as „Silicon Junction“, Intel chief Pat Gelsinger hailed it as a critical part of the company’s strategy for future growth, and that the facility is expected to enter production in four to five years.
