Investment of CHIPS and Science Act supports new high-tech jobs in Missouri.
The semiconductor industry received a major boost this week as the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it will award up to $406 million to GlobalWafers America, LLC and MEMC LLC, which are subsidiaries of GlobalWafers Co., Ltd. This funding was made possible through the CHIPS Incentives Program’s Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication Facilities.
With this, the total investment in the semiconductor industry is approximately $4 billion, which will support the construction of new wafer manufacturing facilities in Texas and Missouri.
Missouri State University’s Jordan Valley Innovation Center leads the way in supporting the semiconductor industry in Missouri. In August 2022, NextFlex, a leading member of the Manufacturing USA Innovation Institutes, announced the approval of the Missouri Node at JVIC, and in May 2023, JVIC was awarded the Advanced Manufacturing Resiliency Grant Program funds through the Missouri Technology Corporation. The JVIC Node awarded funding to MEMC LLC to support the company’ 300 mm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer capabilities.
JVIC’s Advanced Manufacturing Node is currently conducting its second call for projects to support the semiconductor industry.
Thanks to the CHIPS and Science Act funding, more than 1,700 construction jobs and 880 manufacturing jobs are expected to be created across both states. The new facilities will produce silicon wafers, a critical component for advanced semiconductors used in various applications, including electronics, national defense, automotive and aerospace.
About JVIC
High tech research has found a home at the Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center. The focus at JVIC, the anchoring facility for IDEA Commons, is collaborative industry projects with an applied research emphasis on nanotechnology, advanced composite materials, flexible hybrid electronics, semiconductors, novel manufacturing systems and techniques, and the biological and environmental impact these technologies have on our world.
About CHIPS for America
CHIPS for America has awarded over $25 billion of the over $36 billion in proposed incentives funding allocated to date. These announcements across 21 states are expected to create over 125,000 jobs. Since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, semiconductor and electronics companies have announced over $450 billion in private investments, catalyzed in large part by public investment. CHIPS for America is part of President Biden and Vice President Harris’s economic plan to invest in America, stimulate private sector investment, create good-paying jobs, make more in the United States, and revitalize communities left behind. CHIPS for America includes the CHIPS Program Office, responsible for manufacturing incentives, and the CHIPS Research and Development Office, responsible for R&D programs, that both sit within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the Department of Commerce. Visit chips.gov to learn more.
Contact: Allen Kunkel, AllenKunkel@missouristate.edu