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ASML says it sold 'absolutely nothing' in Europe in 2026

402 points · 900 comments · MC995

HPsquared · 1790346004 · focus · HN ↗
Semiconductor fabs involve a lot of hazardous chemicals, process changes and high energy consumption. Exactly the kind of thing European regulations tend to deter or slow down. Which is somewhat fine if there is nowhere else to build it, but if other places are easier, well...
1. piltdownman · 1790346576 · focus · HN ↗
  I mean Ireland has some of the most strenuous regulations in this regard, with dozens of data centres blocked over planning and environmental impact assessments. Despite this Intel still put €30 billion in turning a 360-acre former stud farm in Kildare into a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility, powered entirely by green energy, and acting a key location for production of Intel’s 14nm process technology. They currently pull 1,677,197 MWh/year from our grid.
  More to the point, from 2019 they built €17 billion new fab development which doubled the manufacturing capacity available in Ireland and enabled the production of Intel 4, the company’s most advanced process technology.
  1. mikeyouse · 1790347250 · focus · HN ↗
    For better or worse, Ireland’s extremely lax tax rules resulted in a ton of multinational corporate cash ‘stuck’ there with companies having the option of spending there roughly tax free or repatriating back to the US at some rate higher than that. It also really helps sell the ‘of course an Irish subsidiary owns all of our IP’ tax claims if there is actual spending there, hence you got all the pharma investment and the capital projects from others like Intel and Apple.
    alephnerd · 1790347694 · focus · HN ↗
    "Trapped capital" is not why Intel has doubled down on Ireland.
    It's because whenever Intel asks for anything, the Taoiseach, IDA, and Invest Ireland will move mountains to do it.
    Ireland is extremely business friendly because their leadership actually listens to industry.
    piltdownman · 1790348200 · focus · HN ↗
    LMAO. This is where the actual 'Inside Tennis' knowledge of the Irish Tech industry from someone working within it comes in handy. Enter the 21st Century Luddite, Thomas Reid.
    Thomas is an eccentric, independent bachelor farmer whose family has owned a 72-acre farm next to Intel's Leixlip manufacturing campus for generations.
    Ireland’s State Industrial Development Agency (IDA) attempted to use a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to buy Reid's land so that Intel could proceed with a multi-billion euro expansion of its microchip production plant. The land was valued at €5 million. During the negotiations that followed, the farmer was reportedly offered in the region of €10 million. He turned it down. Reid had no interest in being a millionaire. Instead, he continued to live on-site without a telephone or modern amenities while taking on Intel and the state alone.
    The battle culminated in a landmark legal fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Ireland, where Reid ultimately won a historic victory against corporate overreach and protected his property rights
    <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lonely_Battle_of_Thomas_Reid" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lonely_Battle_of_Thomas_Re...
    <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/3s4bg1/how_a_farmer_took_on_ireland_inc_and_won/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/3s4bg1/how_a_farme...
    <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/intel-requests-dismissal-of-vexatious-appeal-by-farmer-to-its-leixlip-expansion-1.3985237" rel="nofollow">https://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/inte...
    <a href="https://www.rte.ie/culture/2020/1102/1003311-the-lonely-battle-of-thomas-reid-one-mans-struggle-to-fight-th/" rel="nofollow">https://www.rte.ie/culture/2020/1102/1003311-the-lonely-batt...
    HPsquared · 1790348523 · focus · HN ↗
    They certainly tried!

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