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Dive Brief:
- A 916,000-pound “supercargo” is being transported across Ohio this week to Intel’s New Albany semiconductor manufacturing campus, carrying an air processor used to make silicon chips.
- The massive haul is nearly the size of a football field, measuring 23 feet tall, 20 feet wide and 280 feet long. It is scheduled to be delivered to the venue on June 25, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.
- The cargo is the twelfth of nearly two dozen supercargoes being delivered to the $28 billion project as Intel continues construction of its two manufacturing facilities. scheduled for completion until the end of 2026.
Dive Insight:
The massive shipment began its trucking journey Sunday in southwest Ohio and is getting special traffic treatment as it crosses the state given its size and slow speed. Intel did not disclose any third-party contractors it is using to transport the cargo.
The delivery makes stops across Ohio in West Portsmouth, Lucasville, Waverly, Chillicothe, Rickenbacker Parkway, Groveport, Pickerington and Pataskala, according to the department. The state, which designed the route and provides Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers, expects a large crowd to line the route.
Some of the equipment will be used for air separation units to separate natural nitrogen from air and store it for use in the semiconductor manufacturing process, according to Intel. The units won’t be installed immediately, but will eventually be located behind the front office buildings on Intel’s 1,000-acre campus
The manufacturer repurposed a decommissioned coal-fired power plant in Adams County, Ohio, into a port to offload barge deliveries. The first of 24 deliveries was held at the port in early March.
The deliveries help provide some insight into the status of Intel’s construction that began in September 2022, after the company announced in February that it was delaying the site’s projected completion from 2025 to 2026. Intel is also making road improvements in the area around campus throughout the summer.
Intel initially said it would invest $20 billion in the project, but has since raised the estimate to $28 billion, including $8.5 billion in CHIPS and Science Act funding for its projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon.