Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 3, Issue 3

33 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 specifically targeting high-value, high wage industries for expansion. Coupled with a low-cost business environment, world-class universities, a robust talent pipeline, affordable energy, and modern infrastructure, the focused approach has led to historic business wins – with even bigger opportunities on the horizon. In September 2021, U.S. semiconductor giant Intel broke ground on two new chip factories in the Phoenix metro region, bringing the total number of Intel-operated fabs in the state to six. Labeling the state its “U.S. manufacturing powerhouse,” Intel plans to leverage its Arizona factories to support worldwide chip production as part of the recently announced “Intel Foundry Services.” Semiconductors play a central role in the state’s high-tech surge. In May 2020, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced a new fab of its own in north Phoenix, a $12 billion investment, the largest foreign direct investment in the U.S. that year. TSMC joins a well-established semiconductor supply chain in Arizona alongside companies like NXP, Microchip, onsemi, EMD Electronics, Benchmark Electronics, Leonardo, and more. Not to be outdone, battery manufacturing is grabbing its share of local headlines. In July 2021, Idaho-based KORE Power announced Buckeye, Arizona as the site of its new lithium- ion battery production facility, creating 3,000 new jobs. The company joins homegrown technology stars like EnPower, a Phoenix-based startup engineering batteries that charge over three times faster than traditional batteries, with more power and longer lifespans. You don’t have to go far to find a ready market for the new-age batteries. That’s because Arizona has become the home of electric vehicle (EV) production, with one EV publication labeling the state a “modern-day salon of EV innovators.” EV AR I ZONA COMMERCE AUTHOR I TY