The new facility will support ADI’s development of next-generation signal processing innovations designed to accelerate the digital transformation of Industrial, Automotive, Healthcare, and other sectors. It is expected to triple ADI’s European wafer production capacity and aligns with the company’s goal of doubling its internal manufacturing capacity to enhance the resiliency of its global supply chain and better serve customer needs. This investment is expected to grow ADI’s employment footprint in the mid-west region of Ireland by 600 new positions, a significant increase to ADI’s current 1,500 employees in Ireland and 3,100 employees in Europe as a whole.
Today’s announcement comes a year after ADI announced a separate investment of €100 million in ADI Catalyst, its 100,000 sq-ft custom-built facility for innovation and collaboration at its Limerick campus. Ireland is also home to ADI’s main European Research and Development Centre, which has generated more than 1,000 patents since its inception and has seeded ADI R&D sites throughout Europe in Spain, Italy, UK, Romania, and Germany.
“Since 1976, Ireland has been a critical innovation centre for ADI, thanks to its strong academic and research organisations, business ecosystem, and progressive government leadership,” said ADI CEO and Chair Vincent Roche. “This next-generation semiconductor manufacturing facility and expanded R&D team will further extend ADI Limerick’s global influence. Through organic R&D and close collaboration with our customers and ecosystem partners, we are striving to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges and enable a more efficient, safer, and sustainable future.”
The new investment is planned as part of a collaboration within the European Union’s Important Projects of Common European Interest on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies (IPCEI ME/CT) initiative, and will support cross-border collaborative research. ADI’s IPCEI application – Ireland’s first since the inception of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) initiative – is subject to final approval from the European Commission, and is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD said: “This is a really significant announcement for Limerick and the Mid-West region, which marks a new chapter in the longstanding relationship between ADI and Ireland. This massive €630 million investment is great news for local employment with lots of jobs being created during the construction phase, and 600 high-end graduate jobs. It means a significant expansion in the size and scale of ADI’s research, innovation, and development, leading to new, highly innovative products. This investment is further evidence of the Government’s commitment to bringing jobs to the Mid-West. Most IDA jobs created in recent years have been outside of Dublin, and Limerick has done particularly well with its deep talent pool, universities, airport, and infrastructure. This investment will also mean lots of spin-off jobs and contracts for local SMEs and Irish-owned businesses.”
IDA Ireland CEO Michael Lohan said: “The technology that ADI will develop at this facility in Limerick is at the very forefront of innovation and has the potential to revolutionise the lives of billions of people across the world. This investment by ADI is intended to strengthen our supply chain resilience for advanced semiconductor processes. We wish continued success to ADI and look forward to our continued partnership. This is a transformational investment for the Limerick site, for the Mid-West region, and for the semiconductor industry in Ireland. IDA Ireland is committed to supporting investments of scale that impact positively on Europe’s semiconductor industry.”