Today, Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Israel Katz and Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) CEO Meir Spiegler met Ofer Paz, the CEO of the construction company working with Nvidia, and gave him a letter of undertaking that is basically a declaration that IEC will construct the substation required to provide power to the supercomputer that Nvidia is building at Yokne’am, and that is due to be transferred, when it is completed, to the Mevo Carmel Science and Industry Park, about ten minutes down the road.
The supercomputer will be the largest in Israel, and the sixth largest in world, and is costing $200-300 million to build. It will assist Nvidia engineers in developing chips and software for AI servers, and will also be available for use by Israeli academic institutions for research.
IEC and Mevo Carmel Science and Industry Park had traded accusations over responsibility for delays in setting up the electricity substation. IEC has now committed to commissioning the substation by the end of 2024, despite the delays in obtaining statutory approvals that it has encountered in recent months.
"Nvidia’s intention of constructing the most powerful supercomputer in Israel, and one of the most powerful in the world, that will be used for developing artificial intelligence, is an expression of absolute confidence in the Israeli economy and Israeli society," Katz said. "I have therefore instructed all the relevant parties to act immediately to provide Nvidia with the best possible infrastructure for this important project, which will advance the startup nations several steps forward."
Spiegler said, "Despite the regulatory hurdles, including in planning and building, IEC workers will meet the original timetable and will complete the power infrastructure required for the project on time."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 14, 2023.
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