Intel 4 technology is here. Intel’s Fab 34 in Leixlip, Ireland, is the first location to use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) in high-volume manufacturing (HVM) in Europe. The technology enables such future products as Intel® Core Ultra processors for AI PCs and Intel® Xeon processors, which are expected in 2024 and produced on the Intel 3 process node.
Intel’s Ireland fab, and existing and planned investments in Germany and Poland, are a first-of-its-kind end-to-end leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing value chain in Europe. They will likely prompt additional ecosystem investments and innovations across the European Union.
EUV technology used in the production of Intel 4 is broadly adopted in leading-edge semiconductor nodes powering artificial intelligence (AI), advanced mobile networks, autonomous driving, and new data center and cloud applications. Intel’s goal is to deliver five nodes in four years.
Intel manufacturing employees work in the cleanroom of Fab 34, the newest Intel manufacturing facility in Ireland. On Sept. 29, 2023, Intel announced that the factory in Leixlip, Ireland, was in high-volume production of computer chips using Intel 4 technology. (Credit: Intel Corporation)
Intel also just released its Ireland Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy use, water use, and waste to landfills. The Leixlip Fab 34 is on track to achieve LEED Gold certification. The buildings will be using a 9-to-1 ratio of heat generated by heat recovery to heat generated by traditional methods, and most of the cement used during construction was characterized as low carbon due to the integration of recycled content. The Leixlip campus continues implementing the electricity purchasing strategy for 100% renewable supply, returning 88% of its water to the River Liffey and, in 2022, sent 0.6% of its total waste to landfill. These efforts support Intel’s corporate goals to achieve 100% renewable electricity use across its global operations, net positive water and zero waste to landfills by 2030; net-zero GHG emissions across global operations by 2040; and net-zero upstream GHG emissions by 2050.
