Intel’s gigafactory in Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt, eastern Germany) will ultimately not open its doors in 2027. The announcement by the American group of a postponement of its “two years”In mid-September, they cast a shadow over one of the most emblematic projects of the industrial policy pursued by Olaf Scholz’s government.
Magdeburg, the capital of one of the country’s most disadvantaged regions, would benefit fully from this investment of more than 30 billion euros, supported with 9.9 billion euros by Berlin, in the name of industrial modernisation and national sovereignty in terms of advanced electronic chips. 3,000 jobs would be created, as well as a new “high-tech qualification centre”. As Intel sinks deeper into crisis, the factory may never see the light of day.
The shock is all the more serious as other similar initiatives are threatened on the other side of the Rhine. In Saarland, a region bordering France, the construction of a semiconductor factory by the American company Wolfspeed, in partnership with the German equipment manufacturer ZF, has also been postponed. The work, which has begun in Ensdorf on the site of a former coal-fired power station, symbolises a successful industrial transition in this state, formerly dominated by the coal and steel industries.
Series of cost reductions
He bore the brunt of the Wolfspeed Group’s difficulties. In Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate (west), a battery factory project led by Mercedes, TotalEnergies and Stellantis was put on hold in June due to uncertainties over demand. Berlin and the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate had pledged 437 million euros in subsidies.
A third, more emblematic project began to falter. Sweden’s Northvolt, until now the only European manufacturer of car battery cells, announced a series of cost reductions and the closure of a factory in early September, in a context of falling demand and difficulties in increasing production capacity.
The industrialist, however, intends to open his next plant on the other side of the Rhine, in the rural municipality of Heide in Schleswig-Holstein (northern), which is considered attractive for its abundant wind energy. The groundbreaking ceremony dates back to March. The Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate, the environmentalist Robert Habeck, elected from the region, was personally involved in supporting the implementation project. In total, the industrialist was promised 900 million euros. From now on, the viability of the company is in doubt.
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