Twelve “technology hubs” will receive a combined $504 million in grants to help build facilities and implement other efforts to advance selected technologies as part of an effort to strengthen the U.S. economy, it announced on 2 July the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce.
The centers are among 31 across the country that the Biden administration selected last fall for the Tech Hubs Program, created through the Science and CHIPS Act of 2022 to boost technology in a specific field, such as now quantum information, biofabrication, semiconductors or lithium batteries for electricity. vehicles It differs from the Chips for America program, created through the same law to boost semiconductor production with billions of dollars to support construction projects.
Grants in this Tech Hubs funding round range from $19 million to $51 million.
The goal is to “supercharge” the technology sector outside the few areas typically associated with it by bringing together existing talent from the private sector, research institutions and laboratories, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters . He added that the bulk of new tech jobs are concentrated in the metropolitan areas of Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and San Diego, with a 2019 report from the Brookings Institution saying they accounted for 90% of the sector high technology growth from 2005 to 2017.
“The reality is that there are smart people, great entrepreneurs and cutting-edge research institutions across the country,” Raimondo said. “We are leaving a lot of potential on the table if we don’t get them the resources to compete and win in the technology sectors that will define the global economy of the 21st century.”
Grant-funded efforts vary. Many focus on workforce, technology development or support for entrepreneurs. Some include construction plans, including the Elevate Quantum center in Colorado and New Mexico, which plans to build open-access labs and manufacturing plants for prototyping and low-volume manufacturing. The Heartland BioWorks Center in Indiana plans to build a training and demonstration facility and the iFab Tech Hub in Illinois intends to upgrade and expand facilities for companies to commercialize fermentation technologies.
“This historic investment in iFAB’s vision and infrastructure will allow the US to compete with Europe and China, which have been investing heavily in this space,” said Nicole Batement, president of the Economic Development Corp. of Decatur & Macon County, Illinois, to a statement.
Some centers focus on innovation that could affect the construction sector. At the South Florida ClimateReach Technology Center, the focus is on sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure. Led by the Miami Dade County Office of Innovation and Economic Development, one of its initiatives is to scale up low-emission concrete by helping startups with production, validation efforts and business connections. The center already has an agreement with The Underline, a 10-mile linear park under development in Miami-Dade County, to use the concrete it produces.
“This investment by the Biden-Harris administration will allow us to address the climate crisis, drive economic innovation and create high-quality jobs here in South Florida,” said County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in a statement
The CHIPS Act authorized $10 billion for the Tech Hubs program over five years, and $541 million has been allocated to date.
