The U.S. Department of Defense awarded $238 million or the establishment of eight Microelectronics Commons (Commons) regional innovation hubs.
The Microelectronics Commons, a key component of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, aims to facilitate the creation of innovative microelectronics. 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 "lab-to-fab" transition of semiconductor technologies. Each Hub will be advancing U.S. technology leadership in one or more of these areas:
- Secure Edge/Internet of Things (IoT) Computing
- 5G/6G
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hardware
- Quantum Technology
- Electromagnetic Warfare
- Commercial Leap Ahead Technologies
The eight awardees are:
1. Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub
Awardee (Hub Lead): The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech)
Hub Lead State: Massachusetts
FY23 Award: $19.7 M
90 Hub Members
2. Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons (SCMC) Hub
Awardee: The Applied Research Institute (ARI)
Hub Lead State: Indiana
FY23 Award: $32.9 M
130 Hub Members
3. California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (California DREAMS) Hub
Awardee: The University of Southern California (USC)
Hub Lead State: California
FY23 Award: $26.9 M
16 Hub members
4. Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub
Awardee: North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Hub Lead State: North Carolina
FY23 Award: $39.4 M
7 Hub members
5. Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub
Awardee: Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University
Hub Lead State: Arizona
FY23 Award: $39.8 M
27 Hub members
6. Midwest Microelectronics Consortium (MMEC) Hub
Awardee: MMEC
Hub Lead State: Ohio
FY23 Award: $24.3 M
65 Hub members
7. Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH)
Awardee : The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY)
Hub Lead State: New York
FY23 Award: $40.0 M
51 Hub members
8. California-Pacific-Northwest AI Hardware Hub (Northwest-AI Hub)
Awardee: The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
Hub Lead State: California
FY23 Award: $15.3 M
44 Hub members
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3531768/deputy-secretary-of-defense-kathleen-hicks-announces-238m-chips-and-science-act/
