Intel has delayed the groundbreaking ceremony for its new facility in Ohio, which the company’s CEO is calling the start of the “Silicone Heart,” amid concerns about a proposed law to support US semiconductor manufacturing.
Wall Street Magazine Intel reportedly said it was unclear to lawmakers and officials that it was delaying the groundbreaking ceremony for its multi-billion-dollar chip manufacturing facility in Ohio amid frustration with the uncertainty surrounding a bill that would support US chip manufacturing.
Pat Gelsinger, CEO, Intel (Web Summit/FLickr)
Chip factory workers. (KAZUHiro LEGS / Getty)
The ceremony was previously scheduled for July 22; Since then, Intel has notified the Governor of Ohio. He told Mike DeWine (R) and members of the Ohio congressional delegation that the proposed law, dubbed the Bilateral Innovation Act, was delaying innovative developments “due to its ambiguity.”
However, Intel has not delayed the planned construction date, and there are apparently still plans to build the facility. Intel announced the facility in January and plans to invest at least $20 billion in the facility, with construction scheduled to begin in late 2022 and chip production scheduled to begin in 2025.
The company believes project costs could reach $100 billion over the next decade, but expansion of the facility will depend in part on chip manufacturing legislation. Often referred to as the CHIPS Act, the law provides approximately $52 billion in funding to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research and development.
“Unfortunately, funding for the CHIPS Act has been slower than we expected, and we don’t yet know when that will happen,” an Intel spokesperson commented. The spokesperson urged Congress to take action so that Intel “can advance at the speed and scale we’ve long envisioned for Ohio” and other US projects.
The Ohio plant has been cited many times by President Biden as an example of major manufacturing development and an indication that the US is playing a larger role in the global semiconductor industry rather than relying on countries like China as before. Biden had previously met with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and mentioned the Ohio plant in his speech to the State of the Union.
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Source: Breitbart
