After weeks-long speculation, it has been confirmed that a semiconductor company, which will produce computer chips, is moving into Ohio.
“Jersey Township trustee Ben Pieper confirmed to NBC4 Thursday afternoon that a nearly 3,200-acre area northeast of Columbus in Licking County will become a massive computer chip factory,” according to that news outlet.
The factory will reportedly take 10 years to develop, and federal money will be allocated for its development.
New Albany agreed last week to annex part of Jersey County, where some of the company’s massive campus will be built. The campus will be about a half hour drive from Columbus.
News outlets speculated last week that a computer chip company may be coming to the Columbus area.
Despite refusing to confirm where, or even whether the computer chip factory would be built, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine asked Congress to earmark $53 million for semiconductor production in the United States.
Cleveland.com reports, citing anonymous sources, that computer-industry giant Intel is the company that will build the factory.
The move will likely make the United States more competitive in the semiconductor industry, which is currently dominated by the Chinese.
Semiconductors are used to develop electronic devices like smartphones and computers.
The Edison Group describes the process of using semiconductors in computer production:
N- and p-type semiconductors are used to create transistors, small devices that are essential components in modern computers. When a small electrical current is input through a transistor’s ‘gate’, the device outputs a large current. The effect acts as both an amplifier and an electrical switch.
Several transistors together make up a logic gate, a device that processes binary information, the code of ones and zeros used by computers. Transistors can also be used to retain binary code as memory blocks. These semiconductor-based devices are crucial to microchip manufacturing, from processors to memory cards.
China produces 36 percent of the world’s electronic devices, the most of any country.
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) China invested and plans to invest $150 billion into the production of semiconductors between 2014 and 2030.
In 2020, China accounted for 30 percent to 7o percent of global TV, PC, and mobile phone exports, depending on the product, SIA said. It also “consumed one-quarter of all semiconductor-enabled electronics.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Semi-Conductor Factory” by Fensterblick CC BY-SA 3.0.
