Ireland – home of Intel’s European manufacturing hub
The Intel plant in Leixlip, Co Kildare.
Intel first decided to make Ireland its home in 1989, choosing the small Kildare town of Leixlip as the base for its European manufacturing operations. The story that has unfolded over the three decades that followed is a very special one.
Intel has invested over €30 billion in the Leixlip campus, where it makes leading-edge processors that power our digital world. It is a great source of pride for the local team that, from this small corner of Ireland, the Silicon Isle was born.
Today, alongside advanced manufacturing, Intel in Ireland has come to represent a diversity of activities across the spectrum of Intel business, from cutting-edge research to design.
The Intel Leixlip campus is one of only a handful of locations worldwide that produce Intel’s leading process technologies. The Irish fab operations have consistently played a central role within Intel’s global manufacturing network.
Intel Ireland has led numerous process technology startups since the early 1990s and was home to the first 300mm wafer fab outside the US. Most recently, Fab 24 has been a key location for the production of Intel’s 14nm silicon microprocessors, whilst also preparing to support Intel’s foundry customers.
In 2023, construction of Fab 34, a multi-year, two-fab module project, was completed. Intel invested 17 billion euros in this new fab development, which doubles the manufacturing capacity available in Ireland, enabling the production of Intel 4 and Intel 3, some of the company’s most advanced process technologies, and the first to incorporate EUV lithography.
Over the past number of years, Intel Ireland has leveraged its advanced manufacturing capability and world-class infrastructure in Ireland to develop new competencies for Intel in the areas of research and design.
Today, the Leixlip campus is home to the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) Group, which originated with Intel's 2016 acquisition of the Irish start-up Movidius. The group specialises in developing industry-leading, low-power AI technology and software for Intel’s Client Computing Group.
Intel’s dedicated low-power AI engine is designed for sustained AI performance and offloads, making it essential for Intel's leadership in the AI PC market. The NPU Ireland team collaborates closely with global design teams in Romania, Poland, and the US to drive innovation in AI across Intel’s Client portfolio.
The work that Intel undertakes at the Leixlip campus is world-class and unique in its scale and complexity and has had a very significant impact on both the local and national economies. For example, each year Intel contributes approximately €3.73 billion to the Irish economy and accounts for 0.7% of Ireland’s GDP. 19,464 full-time equivalent jobs have been created in addition to the 4,900 people working for Intel. Intel supports 1115 Irish suppliers with whom it spends €284 million every year.
Reducing our environmental footprint as we grow helps us create efficiencies and respond to the needs of our stakeholders. We work across three main focus areas — climate, water, and waste — and invest in conservation projects and set company-wide environmental targets.
The Leixlip campus continues to implement the electricity purchasing strategy for 100% renewable supply, to return 94% of its water to the environment, and in 2025, to send 0% 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.
Additionally, Intel’s newest manufacturing facility in Ireland, Fab 34, achieved LEED® Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it one of the largest building projects in Europe to receive this level of recognition for sustainable construction and design.
