Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt exists because Intel chose Magdeburg—and because East Germany's chemical triangle survived reunification to anchor Europe's largest industrial transformation investment. The state attracted €30 billion for Intel's chip fab construction (largest single investment not just in Saxony-Anhalt but all of Europe), with production of the world's most advanced chips scheduled from 2027. This quantum leap builds on the Chemiedreieck (chemical triangle) at Leuna, Schkopau (Buna-Werke), and Bitterfeld—one of the world's most attractive chemical industry locations, now undergoing €1.3 billion green chemistry transformation as 100+ companies from eleven nations invest in research and sustainable production. Finnish UPM's €1.2 billion biorefinery in Leuna, producing plastics from wood starting late 2024, exemplifies the pivot. Yara and Aunexum's €400 million electrolysis plant in Anhalt-Bitterfeld will produce green hydrogen from wind power starting 2024. Yet €62.7 billion GDP (2018) ranked only 13th among German states, and 2023 saw a 1.4% GDP decline amid broader Eastern German stagnation. The state's secondary cities—Halle/Saale and Dessau-Roßlau (home to Bauhaus founding campus)—diversify beyond Magdeburg's Intel concentration. Intel's collaboration with six universities signals workforce development strategy to overcome skilled labor constraints that threaten to bottleneck the semiconductor boom.