Intel Ohio Fab Breaks Ground, Leading Chip Plant Project Wave

Abstract

Intel Corp. formally broke ground Sept. 9 on a $20-billion project to build two semiconductor chip manufacturing plants in central Ohio. The two fabs under construction "Are going to require [as much] concrete [as] building two of the world's tallest buildings ... and enough structural steel to build eight Eiffel Towers," Esfarjani said. Intel says the 1,000-acre "Mega-site" northeast of Columbus has room for as many as eight plants, known as "Fabs." The company estimates it would require a $100-billion investment to fully build and equip those plants. In August, Biden signed the Chips and Science Act, which includes about $39 billion to support chip plant construction. "As we saw during the pandemic, when factories that make these chips shut down, the global economy comes to a halt, driving up costs for families and everyone, not just here, but around the world," Biden said. Intel is not alone in moving to boost domestic semiconductor chip production. On the same day as Intel's groundbreaking, Wolfspeed Inc. selected a site in Chatham County, N.C., to build a $5-billion materials manufacturing facility to produce silicon carbide wafers for semiconductor chips.