A large chip plant currently in early construction outside Columbus, Ohio, could reduce or delay construction depending on what Congress does with the CHIPS Act, Intel said in a statement Thursday.
The facility was announced in January and will be the most significant expansion of US semiconductor production in years. Intel estimates that the facility could cost up to $100 billion and has pledged an initial investment of $20 billion.
"Unfortunately, funding under the CHIPS Act is proceeding more slowly than expected, and we still don't know when that will happen.
It's time for Congress to act so we can move forward with the speed and scale we've long envisioned for Ohio and our other projects to help restore leadership in US semiconductor manufacturing and build supply chains with more sustainable semiconductors," the statement continued.
Intel's plans for the facility include US government subsidies under the CHIPS Act, which could fund $52 billion into US government production of computer chips to boost semiconductor manufacturing and research. The bill passed the Senate last summer but has yet to be signed.
The CHIPS bill stalled as lawmakers tried to determine the differences between two competing versions of the law passed by each chamber in the past year or so. Semiconductor financing is only part of a larger package that must find its way through the negotiation process.
Intel is still committed to the $20 billion investment announced earlier this year, a news spokesperson said, but a more significant $100 billion investment is uncertain unless Congress passes the CHIPS Act. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger was in the District of Columbia on Thursday to discuss the bill with lawmakers.
