Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced the award today of $238 million in \u201cCreating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act\u201d funding for the establishment of eight Microelectronics Commons (Commons) regional innovation hubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the largest award to date under President Biden\u2019s CHIPS and Science Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Microelectronics Commons is focused on bridging and accelerating the lab-to-fab transition, that infamous valley of death between R&D and production,\u201d said Deputy Secretary Hicks. \u201cPresident Biden\u2019s CHIPS Act will supercharge America\u2019s ability to prototype, manufacture, and produce microelectronics scale. CHIPS and Science made clear to America \u2014 and the world \u2014 that the U.S. government is committed to ensuring that our industrial and scientific powerhouses can deliver what we need to secure our future in this era of strategic competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The eight awardees are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awardee (Hub Lead): The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) 2. Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons (SCMC) Hub<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awardee: The Applied Research Institute (ARI) 3. California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (California DREAMS) Hub<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awardee: The University of Southern California (USC) 4. Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awardee: North Carolina State University (NCSU) 5. Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awardee: Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University 6. Midwest Microelectronics Consortium (MMEC) Hub<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awardee: MMEC 7. Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awardee : The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY) 8. California-Pacific-Northwest AI Hardware Hub (Northwest-AI Hub)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Awardee: The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University In all, over 360 organizations from over 30 states will be participating in the Commons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With $2 billion in funding for Fiscal Years 2023 through 2027, the Microelectronics Commons program aims to leverage these Hubs to accelerate domestic hardware prototyping and \u201clab-to-fab\u201d transition of semiconductor technologies. This will help mitigate supply chain risks and ultimately expedite access to the most cutting-edge microchips for our troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Six technology areas critical to the DoD mission were selected as focus areas for the Commons. Each Hub will be advancing U.S. technology leadership in one or more of these areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hubs are expected to spur economic growth across their respective regions and the economy at large. Hubs are charged with developing the physical, digital, and human infrastructure needed to support future success in microelectronics research and development. This includes building education pipelines and retraining initiatives to ensure the United States has the talent pool needed to sustain these investments. Hubs are expected to become self-sufficient by the end of their initial five-year awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cConsistent with our warfighter-centric approach to innovation,\u201d said Deputy Secretary Hicks, \u201cthese hubs will tackle many technical challenges relevant to DoD\u2019s missions, to get the most cutting-edge microchips into systems our troops use every day: ships, planes, tanks, long-range munitions, communications gear, sensors, and much more\u2026 including the kinds of all-domain, attritable autonomous systems that we\u2019ll be fielding through the Department\u2019s recently-announced Replicator initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Microelectronics Commons program has been spearheaded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in conjunction with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division and the National Security Technology Accelerator. On 30 November 2022, the Request for Solutions was released, with a deadline of 28 February 2023. The DoD received over 80 submissions, with over 600 unique organizations included as prospective team members. The DoD pulled together an interagency team of technical experts, including representatives from the Commerce Department, to make selections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hub Lead State: Massachusetts
FY23 Award: $19.7 M
90 Hub Members<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hub Lead State: Indiana
FY23 Award: $32.9 M
130 Hub Members<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hub Lead State: California
FY23 Award: $26.9 M
16 Hub members<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hub Lead State: North Carolina
FY23 Award: $39.4 M
7 Hub members<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hub Lead State: Arizona
FY23 Award: $39.8 M
27 Hub members<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hub Lead State: Ohio
FY23 Award: $24.3 M
65 Hub members<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hub Lead State: New York
FY23 Award: $40.0 M
51 Hub members<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hub Lead State: California
FY23 Award: $15.3 M
44 Hub members<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n