%Intel ($INTC) says it plans to invest up to €80 billion euros ($90 billion U.S.) over the next decade to improve Europe’s supply of %Semiconductor chips.
The Santa Clara, California-based company says it will spend an initial $19 billion U.S. to create two new chip factories in Germany. Construction on the site in the northeastern city of Magdeburg, which Intel will name “Silicon Junction,” is expected to begin next year and start operations in 2027.
Intel plans to pour money into every part of the microchip supply chain, including research, manufacturing, and packaging, with investments also going to France, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain.
With its initial investment of more than $36 billion U.S., Intel expects to create about 5,500 jobs in Europe, plus thousands more in construction and at suppliers and partners. The new factories will deliver chips using Intel’s most advanced transistor technologies to supply foundry customers as well as its own products.
A severe shortage of semiconductor chips has plagued technology companies and carmakers around the world over the past year as economies reopened from pandemic lockdowns and demand for goods rose sharply.
The tiny semiconductor chips are found in multiple consumer products, from smartphones to washing machines.
In recent months, the European Commission has ramped up its efforts to secure chip supplies. In February, the Commission said it planned to funnel €43 billion euros ($47 billion U.S.) of public and private investments into the industry as part of its proposed “European Chips Act.”
The European Union currently accounts for 10% of the global chip market but could represent 20% by 2030 if the Act is adopted, analysts estimate.