A minister of the German state of Bavaria has confirmed that the state is in discussions with Intel about building a local fab, Reuters reported today. Economy Minister Hubert Aiwanger did not detail how the negotiations were proceeding but indicated that Bavaria offered Intel at least one possible location.
Pat Gelsinger, Intel's CEO, visited Europe in April to discuss building a state-of-the-art semiconductor fab there to support the company's IDM 2.0 strategy comprised of vast in-house manufacturing, some outsourcing and offering contract manufacturing services under the Intel Foundry Services moniker.
Intel hopes to get some €8 billion ($9.7 billion) in government subsidies, which may include incentives like tax breaks and direct investments. This could be a hint that the chip giant plans to build a fairly large fab in continental Europe that could cost around $25 billion or more.
Intel's actual plans for the fab are yet to take shape, but Bavarian officials have already proposed an abandoned air base in Penzing-Landsberg near Munich as a potential location for the fab.
"I strongly support this," Aiwanger said as per Reuters. "The possible location of a large international semiconductor manufacturer in Bavaria is an outstanding opportunity."
