Intel invests $5.7 billion in Ireland fab — aims to boost output of Xeon 6, next-gen Xeon products built on Intel 3 process

Intel this week announced that it will invest €5 billion ($5.7 billion) to expand and modernize its manufacturing operations at the company’s facility near Leixlip, Ireland. The project is intended to increase production capacity for Intel Xeon 6 processors and next-generation Intel Xeon products built using the Intel 3 fabrication process (3nm-class), as well as advanced research and development (R&D) activities at the site.

The upgrade of the facility will involve installation of new tools presumably at Fab 34 as well as extensive infrastructure improvements designed to increase manufacturing efficiency. One of the key elements of the project is the expansion of the campus’ automated material transport network, which will connect separate manufacturing modules into a single high-speed production system. Meanwhile, the modernization will not involve cleanroom expansion. Intel expects the upgrade to enable the Leixlip site to produce larger volumes of Intel 3-based products and make better use of the existing cleanroom capacity.

Intel opened its Fab 34 near Leixlip, Ireland, in 2023 and has been making various chips — including Core Ultra 100-series using Intel 4 and Xeon 6 using Intel 3 production node — using its process technologies that rely on EUV lithography at the site. At present, Intel’s Fab 34 is Europe’s only high-volume semiconductor production facility that uses EUV tools.

In mid-2024, Intel announced the €10.1 billion sale of a 49% stake in Fab 34 with Apollo Global Management as it badly needed money. This April, the company announced that it would repurchase the 49% stake in Fab 34 for $14.2 billion, which opened doors to the current expansion and investment. Intel claims that it kicked off execution of the project earlier this year, though it did not disclose when the upgrades will be completed.

“By investing in our existing fabs with state-of-the-art technology and installing cutting-edge tools, we are not just increasing output of critical products like Xeon 6 and next gen Intel Xeon processors built on Intel 3, we are ensuring that Ireland remains at the forefront of the world’s most advanced manufacturing ecosystems, while strengthening the region’s role in the global technology landscape,” said Naga Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Operations Officer and General Manager of Intel Foundry.

Among other things, Intel says that the investment will strengthen Europe’s semiconductor supply chain and support the European Union’s technology sovereignty objectives by increasing domestic production of leading-edge CPUs. There is a catch about that claim, though. All the silicon produced in Ireland is transported back to the U.S. for testing and assembly, as well as makes the end products, such as Core Ultra or Xeon 6, ‘made in America.’