- Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger plans on making the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing plant in Ohio.
- Gelsinger spoke with TIME about Intel's plans to move the semiconductor chip supply chain to Ohio by 2025.
- Intel's $20 billion and 1,000-acre plant will be the "largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet," according to Gelsinger.
Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger believes the best solution for the global chip shortage is building the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing plant right here on US soil.
In an interview with Time, Gelsinger said his aim in developing Intel's forthcoming $20 billion mega-factory in New Albany, Ohio — which was announced earlier this week at a news conference with President Joe Biden — is to rebuild "a complete supply chain" for semiconductors in the US.
"When we look to 2030 and beyond, we could be at a dramatically different view of our national supply chains," Gelsinger told Time. "And, as we've said, COVID has induced us to think about these things differently."
The plant, which is slated to be operational in 2025, will include two semiconductor fabrication plants where Intel will research, develop, and manufacture computer chips. The effort is expected to employ approximately 3,000 people to produce the chips, which power everything from cars to gadgets like iPhones, gaming consoles, and computers.
Companies like Intel had been plagued by supply chain shortages and constraints around chips even before the pandemic, though factory shutdowns and increased demand exacerbated the problem.
According to Gelsinger, the best way to alleviate the crunch is to bring the supply chain stateside. The CEO told Time that Intel plans to implement its most cutting-edge technology at the plant, adding that the plant could expand up to 2,000 acres.
"Our expectation is that this becomes the largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet," Gelsinger said.
Although Ohio may seem like an unexpected choice for Intel, given its main hubs are primarily located on the West Coast, Gelsinger told TIME that Intel's move to the Midwest is strategic as the region attempts a comeback in manufacturing.
"Ohio has a great reputation as a manufacturing site," Gelsinger said. "For other industries, it's been well leveraged in that regard — manufacturing is hard work. It is just very disciplined execution."
Intel's announcement is the largest private-sector investment in Ohio history, according to the magazine. Gelsinger has repeatedly met with various leaders in Washington, DC, to discuss moving semiconductor manufacturing to the US in order to alleviate supply chain bottlenecks as part of the CHIPS for America Act.
Passed last year, the CHIPS Act authorized federal investments in chip manufacturing to incentivize chip makers in the US. However, the CHIPS act does not provide funding for the incentives. While the Senate passed $52 billion in funding in June, the House has not passed the legislation.
"[The CHIPS Act] allows us to go bigger and faster, but we're not waiting on its passage to get underway," Gelsinger told Time. "We're running a company. We're not running a political process. We're getting going."
