Marking a milestone in Intel’s ongoing manufacturing expansion in Arizona, the company announced that the initial portion of the cleanroom is “weather tight” and the “blow down” phase1 has begun at the company’s two new leading-edge chip factories on its Ocotillo campus in Chandler, Arizona. This milestone underscores Intel’s dedication to advancing its presence in the state and fostering technological innovation.
“Our commitment to Arizona runs deep, and as we expand our operations, we remain dedicated to addressing the growing demand for semiconductors and helping the United States regain its leadership position in this vital industry,” said Dan Doron, Intel vice president and general manager of Fab Construction Enterprise. “This milestone represents the result of great teamwork, proficient teams and exceptional craftsmanship of the tradespeople, and it’s thanks to their hard work that we’ve made such significant progress on our site while keeping our culture of caring and the safety of all as our top priority.”
With Arizona as an important manufacturing hub, Intel – the sole U.S.-based leading-edge chipmaker – is dedicated to addressing the growing demand for semiconductors and helping the United States regain its leadership position in this vital industry.
Intel’s journey in Arizona began more than four decades ago. In that time, the company has become an integral part of the state’s technology landscape. Today, more than 13,000 Arizona residents work at Intel, helping to support Intel’s mission of developing and manufacturing cutting-edge technology solutions that address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Intel’s long-term investment has yielded significant benefits for Arizona, with an estimated 58,6002 jobs supported by Intel’s operations. Intel’s annual economic impact in the state stands at $8.6 billion.2
In 2021, Intel reaffirmed its commitment to Arizona by announcing an additional $20 billion investment. This expansion initiative includes the construction of two advanced semiconductor fabs in Ocotillo, pushing Intel’s total investment in Arizona to more than $50 billion over more than four decades. The new fabs will manufacture Intel’s most advanced process technologies, including Intel 18A and Intel 20A featuring the new RibbonFET and PowerVia innovations.
The current expansion is expected to create more than 3,000 high-tech, high-wage Intel jobs, along with 3,000 construction jobs. Additionally, it will support an estimated 15,000 indirect jobs within the local community.
The Ocotillo construction site is a bustling hub of activity, with a daily workforce of 6,000 skilled tradespeople who have collectively worked more than 10 million job hours to date. Workers have poured 342,000 cubic yards of concrete, an amount equivalent to filling 103 Olympic-size swimming pools, and constructed nearly a mile and a half of steel trestles. Intel reports good progress with the site’s mechanical, electrical and process equipment work.
Intel is committed to minimizing its environmental footprint, while expanding its operations to meet the global demand for semiconductors. For instance, Intel has a goal to recycle at least 90% of its construction waste. So far in 2023, the company has kept more than 25,000 tons of construction debris from its Arizona waste streams.
Intel is also making significant strides in water stewardship. The Ocotillo campus recently earned Platinum level certification from the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), recognizing Intel’s ongoing commitment to water conservation and restoration. The company conserved more than 3.3 billion gallons of water in its Ocotillo operations in 2022. Intel has also funded 21 nonprofit-led water restoration projects to support Arizona’s watersheds that, when fully implemented, will restore almost 2.2 billion gallons of water annually. Intel’s efforts in its operations and in the community have enabled the Arizona site to return and restore more than 100% of its freshwater use to local watersheds, achieving net positive water in 2021 and 2022.
Intel also harnesses the power of the sun to support its commitment to renewable electricity in Arizona. The company has invested in on-site alternative electricity with solar electric photovoltaic-covered parking lots in both the Ocotillo and Chander campuses, and Intel purchases green power from utility suppliers and green attributes from multiple sources to meet 100% of its Arizona electricity use.
These efforts support Intel’s corporate goals to achieve 100% renewable electricity use across its global operations, net positive water use and zero waste to landfills by 2030; net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its global operations by 2040; and net-zero upstream GHG emissions by 2050.
