Intel has announced its third mega investment in a year.

As the American chip manufacturer announced on Friday, it wants to build a chip factory in the USA that will cost at least 20 billion dollars.

He chose Ohio in the Midwest of the country as the location for this.

Almost a year ago, Intel announced an expansion of its production in the state of Arizona for 20 billion dollars.

In the meantime, the group has also announced plans for new chip factories in Europe, which could cost 80 billion euros.

Roland Lindner

Business correspondent in New York.

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Stephen Finsterbusch

Editor in Business.

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With its investments, what was once the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer wants to expand its production base, shorten the gap to technologically rushing Asian competitors and take a big step on the way to recapturing the industry crown.

In 2021, Intel had to let the Korean memory chip manufacturer Samsung pass it as the new leader in the $500 billion semiconductor industry.

In addition, the group has relatively little to oppose the Taiwanese contract manufacturer TSMC in the business with chips of the latest technology generations.

Intel recently struggled with declining market shares and delays in the development of new products, long-standing customers turned away.

A year ago, Intel brought Pat Gelsinger to the top.

Since then, he has announced one production offensive after the other.

Part of his strategy is for Intel to take on contract manufacturing for other companies in addition to its own chips.

Ohio is to become Intel's first completely new American production site in 40 years.

The group is settling in a region that was once heavily influenced by manufacturing industries such as car manufacturers, but has lost many jobs here in recent decades.

Production is scheduled to begin in late 2025

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called Intel's investment "transformative" for the state. Intel intends to build two factories near the city of Columbus on an area equivalent to more than 500 soccer fields, which will employ 3,000 people. The foundation stone is to be laid this year, and production is scheduled to begin at the end of 2025. In the so-called fabs, Intel wants to produce chips with structure sizes of less than 10 nanometers. These are currently required primarily for processing huge amounts of data in artificial intelligence systems.

Intel is already planning an expansion; 100 billion dollars could be invested here within the next ten years. However, Intel expressly made the scope of the project dependent on the passing of a law that provides state subsidies of 52 billion dollars for the chip industry. This “CHIPS Act” was approved by the Senate in 2021 but is still stuck in the House of Representatives. As the "New York Times" wrote, Intel boss Gelsinger wanted to meet US President Joe Biden in the White House on Friday.

Intel is also hoping for massive government subsidies in Europe. The group already has a factory here in Ireland. It is not yet public where the next major investment will take place. Intel is exploring possible locations in Germany, France and Italy and is negotiating with Brussels. All of the investments are primarily intended to serve the industry's high demand for chips. Europe and America want to make sectors such as car manufacturing, telecoms and pharmaceuticals less dependent on chip production in Asia.

Since the end of the 1980s, countries like Korea and Taiwan have been using huge state aid to promote the development of companies like Samsung or TSMC, which today set the tone in large parts of the semiconductor industry.

TSMC will invest between the equivalent of 40 and 44 billion dollars this year alone.

Samsung will spend almost 38 billion dollars in 2022.

Both corporations are also setting up chip systems in the USA.