Intel is one of the largest chip manufacturers alongside AMD and Nvidia. The company wanted to expand and build a large factory in Germany. But now everything is being delayed. For not only the ground is causing problems, but also a discovery from the Stone Age.
In 2022, there were plans from Intel to build a new chip factory in Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt). But the first problems arose here even before construction could begin:
- Intel wanted money from the German federal government and had already received billions approved. However, a request to increase the original investment from 6.8 billion to 10 billion euros was rejected by Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP).
- During a mandatory archaeological survey, a large Neolithic burial site was discovered in the construction area. Neolithic refers to the New Stone Age, so the ruins are over ten thousand years old.
However, the difficulties for the major project seem to have no end in sight. Now the soil is also not optimal for the factory. This is reported by the British colleagues from PCGamer in agreement with a German regional newspaper.
Magdeburg soil is too soft for a large chip factory from Intel
What is the problem with the soil? As the German daily newspaper Volksstimme (behind paywall) reports, Intel wanted to finally start construction in a few months and needed to excavate the soil. In the meantime, a test revealed that the site contains more black soil than expected.
Black soil is among the most fertile soils in the world and is therefore used intensively in agriculture. However, black soil also has a downside: it is very soft and permeable. Normally, layers of black soil are about 40 cm deep in the Magdeburg region, but Intel has caught a construction site where the black soil layer is supposed to reach up to 90 cm deep.
The problem: Due to the soft and loose nature of the soil, the engineers cannot build on it. Because with such large amounts of black soil, the factory would sink and be permanently endangered.
For this reason, Intel will have to postpone its construction plans once again. It is likely that they can only start building the new chip factory at the earliest in 2025, unless something else comes up again.
New competition for Intel: In recent years, Nvidia has had great success with its focus on AI. However, in the AI sector, there are other competitors lurking, aiming for market shares. And these are mainly smaller companies that you probably have never heard of: Forget Intel and AMD: The next opponent for Nvidia could be a company you’ve never heard of
