Intel barely has the foundations down in Ohio.
The building goes up quickly compared to equipment installation & qualification, bug fixes, then the full fab process transfer qualification process ... and in the old days we would do device level qualification as 2nd source for Mil-Aero products.
This line about a 4% yield pop is sus. If legit, some engineer(s) in Taiwan are getting their ass(es) chewed.
In late October 2024, the company announced that yields at the Arizona plant were 4 percent higher than those at plants in Taiwan, a promising early sign of the fab’s efficiency.
Impressive plan. Amazing economy of scale if 2nm and 300mm wafers.
The current fab is capable of operating at the 4-nanometer node, the process used to make Nvidia’s most advanced GPUs. A second fab, set to be operational in 2028, plans to offer 2- or 3-nm-node processes. Both 4-nm and more advanced 3-nm chips began high-volume production at other TSMC fabs in 2022, while the 2-nm node will begin volume production in Taiwan this year. In the future, the company also has plans to open a third fab in the United States that will use more advanced technology.
They've been "building" for a while now. I don't see much change out there.
I don't believe the water situation has been addressed out there yet either, it's just kind of been swept away.
They've been "building" for a while now. I don't see much change out there.
If the structure is fully enclosed, the internal work is extensive before equipment can be accepted. Maybe the outside doesn't look active because they are heavily focused on the inside? IDK, just spitballing.
I don't believe the water situation has been addressed
Water scarcity? TI's facility (used to be National Semiconductor 200mm fab) is the largest consumer of fresh water in Southern Maine. Good thing we have plenty.
That's a major faux pas in the plan if there wasn't a reliable source of water secured first. D'oh!
It's also worth pointing out that Intel isn't building any of this, it's all Brookfield Capital Partners. So Intel really has limited skin in the game here.
I haven't looked for a while, but when I ran by there this fall there wasn't any buildings. Just foundations. If I have some time I'll head up Mink Street and see what's there now.
The nearest water source would be Johnstown, a sleepy little burb with a sleepy little water plant. Columbus would probably have to plumb out there to get as much as they need.
There were stories about that when the project first started, but they all vanished.