By The Biden administration on Monday announced more than $150 million in geographically targeted federal investments, part of the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines program.
Ten regional innovation engines will receive funds and are eligible to receive upward of $2 billion as part of the program, authorized under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. Monday’s awardees include a semiconductor innovation engine in Central Florida, an energy transition engine in Louisiana and an advanced agriculture technology engine in North Dakota.
The program will give initial funding to help researchers and students work together with companies to supercharge regional ecosystems. This includes more $150 million in federal investment, or $15 million per hub, and another $350 million in matched contributions from nonfederal partners. Each NSF engine includes coalitions of higher education institutions, small businesses and state and local governments.
“The Chips and Science Act is starting to achieve [its] critically important goal of spurring innovation and creating good paying jobs in communities in every part of America,” said Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, has led to more than $200 billion in private investment and will create upward of 40,000 jobs in the semiconductor ecosystem, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The U.S. only produces about 10% of global chip supply, and the bill aims to restore America’s position as a global leader in semiconductors.
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