Intel's German 1-nanometer wafer fab Fab29 delayed

TapTechNews May 30th news, Volksstimme, a German media, reported that Intel's 1-nanometer wafer fab Fab29 in Germany was delayed due to black soil cleaning and EU subsidy approval, and the new start date was postponed to May 2025.

Intel said that although the start date was delayed, if the construction and tool installation were completed at an accelerated pace, the factory might still be put into production between the end of 2027 and the beginning of 2028.

The project was originally planned to start in the first half of 2023, but was postponed to the summer of 2024 due to the subsidy delay. However, the EU Competition Authority has not yet approved the 9.9 billion euros subsidy for this 30 billion euros project, which led to the delay.

Intel is adjusting its plans accordingly, focusing on infrastructure construction and land acquisition to prepare for the postponed construction.

TapTechNews reported on March 23rd this year that in the development zone of Intel's proposed Magdeburg factory in Germany, archaeologists discovered two Neolithic tombs, which may lead to the delay of the construction project.

According to the previously disclosed blueprint, Intel has purchased a fairly large piece of land in Magdeburg. At present, the two buildings of Fab29.1 and Fab29.2 in the first phase (the blue part in the figure) and the supporting facilities only occupy about a quarter of the total area. This means that Intel is expected to further expand the production scale in Germany in the future.

Fab29.1 and Fab29.2 are three-story buildings, with each floor ranging from 5.7 to 6.5 feet high. Coupled with the roof structure for air conditioning and heating, the overall height of the building reaches 36.7 feet. The second floor will be the location of the High-NAEUV lithography machine, and the upper and lower floors are used for material logistics.