Magdeburg/Brussels (dpa/sa) – Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) meets EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Wednesday. Topics to be discussed include the energy crisis, the European Chips Act and the related settlement of the US chip manufacturer Intel in Magdeburg, as a government spokesman said.
The EU plays an important role in the major project in the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt. The European Chips Act aims to mobilize several billion euros in funding for the chip industry in Europe. Intel hopes that the proposed law will be passed in the first half of 2023 – but whether it will actually happen that quickly remains to be seen.
With the law, the EU wants to prevent Europe from being further left behind by Asia and America in the production of microchips. Among other things, certain new semiconductor factories should be allowed to be more easily supported by subsidies. State aid for companies in the EU is actually only possible in exceptional cases so that competition is not distorted.
Intel is hoping for generous government support to close the cost gap to other possible locations. According to the company, this is the only way to make these investments in Europe profitable. The federal government wants to support the settlement in Magdeburg with a billion amount. A total of 6.8 billion euros is to flow by 2024.
Chips are to be produced in Magdeburg from 2027. In a first expansion stage, two neighboring semiconductor factories are to be built, which could create several thousand jobs. Intel intends to invest around 17 billion euros for this initially. The groundbreaking could take place in the first half of 2023.
