The forthcoming Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub (NEMC) will be fueled by a mixture of federal CHIPS and Science Act funding as well as state funding. The federal program has now awarded $19.7 million to the project in FY 2023, and the state is providing up to $40 million in matching funds.
The Department of Defense (DoD) has been striving to see nine regional hubs established around the nation as part of federal efforts to onshore semiconductor research and manufacturing.
In February, the quasi-public economic development agency the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative led a coalition of roughly 90 organizations from throughout the northeast in applying to the DoD to be home to one of those hubs — a selection Massachusetts just received.
The northeastern coalition includes a mix of academic, public, private and nonprofit organizations from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Massachusetts officials say the forthcoming hub will bring new jobs, workforce training opportunities and new investments in advanced manufacturing and technology sectors in the northeast region.
The hubs are intended to boost national and local economies and to provide retraining opportunities and an education pipeline to build out and sustain the microelectronics talent pool. The DoD’s Microelectronics Program focuses on six technology areas: secure edge and Internet of Things computing; 5G and 6G; AI hardware; quantum technology; electromagnetic warfare; and commercial leap ahead technologies.
The NEMC proposal was one of 80 submitted to the DoD for consideration, per Massachusetts' press release.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Massachusetts to be at the forefront of innovation and this cutting-edge sector,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.
