Biden-Harris Administration Announces Awards; Massachusetts-Led NEMC Hub Receives Most Funding through Microelectronics Commons Project Awards from CHIPS-Funded Program

Boston - On September 18, 2024, the Healey-Driscoll Administration celebrated a $37,782,565 federal award for the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub to advance the development of microelectronics technologies in the Northeast. The Biden-Harris Administration, represented by Senior Advisor to the President for Energy and Investment Amos Hochstein, announced the awards at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

The NEMC Hub, which is part of the Microelectronics Commons program and executed through the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), received six of the 33 critical technology project awards announced today, the most awards received by one of the eight Microelectronics Commons Hubs. The Department of Defense announced a total of $269 million in awards for 33 new technical projects under the Microelectronics Commons program.

“Today’s awards highlight the innovation and expertise that exists across the Northeast when it comes to microelectronics and semiconductors, especially right here in Massachusetts,” said Governor Maura Healey. “The NEMC Hub is creating research and partnerships that will have long-lasting, positive impacts on our national security, bring more of this critical chip research back to the U.S. and our region, and result in the development of cutting-edge tools that will help protect our country and empower our service members stationed around the world. We’re grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration for prioritizing this sector and investing in Massachusetts.” 

“Thank you to the Biden-Harris Administration, NEMC Hub leadership and all of those responsible for making the CHIPS Act a reality, as these awards will deliver critically important technology and jobs to our region over the coming years,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Growing up in a military family, I know how imperative it is that our service members are equipped with the best, most-reliable technologies available. That means tech backed by homegrown, state-of-the-art chipsets made here in America.”

“Massachusetts is home to our nation’s leading advanced manufacturers and we’re excited that the investments announced today will help ensure these companies have the tools and talent they need to succeed,” said Economic Development Secretary and MassTech Collaborative Board Chair Yvonne Hao. “We’re proud of the NEMC Hub and MassTech for expanding this coalition to more than 200 members and leading this effort to attract CHIPS investments to the Northeast.”  

“This is a major win for Massachusetts, the Northeast and the U.S. overall,” said Federal Funds and Infrastructure Director Quentin Palfrey. “We thank the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Defense, NSWC Crane Division and NSTXL for investing these CHIPS dollars where they will have a major impact on our national security and readiness, doubling down on our home-grown innovators and world-class research institutions across the region.”

The NEMC Hub is a 200-member organization led by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech). NEMC Hub’s member organizations submitted 15 competitive proposals to the federal Call for Projects launched in December 2023, which offered up a potential for $280 million in competitive awards during the first year of the program. NEMC Hub’s awarded projects covered five of the six critical technology execution areas outlined by NSTXL in the initial program launch. These include:

- 5G/6G Technology;
- Artificial Intelligence Hardware;
- Quantum Technology;
- Electromagnetic Warfare; and
- Commercial Leap Ahead.

Each of the collaborative projects awarded are comprised of the NEMC Hub, a Hub member organization project technical lead, and multiple other Hub member organizations from across the Northeast region and the nation. The NEMC Hub is also participating in the $35 million Cross-Hub Enablement Solution for electronic design and automation tools and infrastructure project awarded through the Microelectronics Commons.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to grow microelectronics lab-to-fab capabilities across the Northeast region and spur the growth of game-changing technologies in this sector,” said NEMC Hub Director Mark Halfman. “These programs will only be successful if our member companies have the talent to mature these technologies and expand their operations, which is why we use our CHIPS Act funding to go beyond tech investments and also fund innovative programs that will help train the next generation semiconductor workforce."  

“These awards, announced on the two-year anniversary of the CHIPS Act, are recognition of the strength, depth, and breadth that exists in the Northeast microelectronics ecosystem,” said MassTech’s Deputy Director and Chief Investment Strategist Ben Linville-Engler. “It is a testament to the hard work, collaboration, organization and leadership that the NEMC Hub and its members have demonstrated during the inaugural year of the Microelectronics Commons.” 

The awarded projects include:

Akoustis (North Carolina)

Tech Focus Area: Electromagnetic Warfare

Project Name: “A giant Leap AheaD in DEsigning Rf filters Electromagnetic Warfare (LADDER)

Award: $4,024,296

Hub Lead: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative 

Partners: Air Force Research Laboratory, Army Research Laboratory, Raytheon Technologies, and the University of Pennsylvania.

BAE Systems (New Hampshire)

Tech Focus Area: Quantum Technology

Project Name: Community?driven Hybrid Integrated Quantum?Photonic Integrated circuits (CHIQPI)

Award:  $9,631,983

Hub Leads: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative in partnership with the NORDTECH Hub

Partners: Air Force Research Laboratory (RI), Air Force Research Laboratory, Analog Photonics, Cornell University, Fermilab, Harvard University, IonQ, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, The MITRE Corporation, Spark Photonics, TOPTICA Photonics, Inc., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Vapor Cell Technologies, and Yale University.

Sivers Semiconductors  (New Jersey)

AWARD #1 

Tech Focus Area: 5G/6G

Project Name: Wideband, Scalable MIMO arrays for NextG Systems: From Antennas to Decoders

Award: $6,045,979

Hub Lead: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Partners: Boston University, Ericsson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technologies, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.\

AWARD #2

Tech Focus Area: Electromagnetic Warfare

Project Name: Wideband Same?Frequency STAR Array Platform Based on Heterogeneous Multi-Domain Self?Interference Cancellation

Award: $5,633,307

Hub Lead: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Partners: BAE Systems, Columbia University, MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

University of Massachusetts Amherst (Massachusetts)

Tech Focus Area: Artificial Intelligence Hardware

Project Name: Lab?to?Fab Transfer of CMOS+memristor Chips for Edge Intelligence

Award: $7,895,407

Hub Lead: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

Partners: BAE Systems, Berkshire Community College, Global Foundries, NYCREATES, Raytheon Technologies, TetraMem, Inc., and the University of Southern California.

Statements of Support

Senator Elizabeth Warren:
“I led a successful effort to lock in critical funding through the CHIPS Act, paving the way for advancements in our phones and hearing aids. With this award, Massachusetts will continue to be a leader in microelectronic technology research and innovation.”

Congresswoman Lori Trahan: 
“The Commonwealth has always been a leader in the research, development, and manufacturing of the technologies necessary to win the 21st Century. This significant federal investment will ensure that, as the United States restores our leadership in microelectronics, Massachusetts workers, businesses, and universities will be the tip of the spear. I look forward our continued work together at the federal and state levels of government as well as with our partners in the private sector to secure additional CHIPS Act investments that will build on this progress and create good-paying jobs.” 

Congresswoman Katherine Clark: 
“With this $38 million federal award, the Biden-Harris Administration is making good on their promise to invest in American innovation and create good-paying jobs right here at home. This is a big win for communities across the Commonwealth and New England, and I am proud to have cast my vote for historic legislation that's spurring new opportunities and bolstering our local industries." 
 
Congressman Seth Moulton: 
“I’m thrilled that the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub, a transformative Massachusetts-born initiative, is set to receive over $37 million in federal funding. NEMC is tapping into our region’s best resources to help reduce our reliance on foreign nations to manufacture chips, and importantly, it will limit opportunities for technology theft. Even better, these NEMC Hub investments are creating high-quality, well-paying jobs and offering valuable upskilling opportunities to our workforce. This is exactly how we need to approach national security moving forward: cutting-edge innovation driven right here on American soil.”

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley: 
“This federal funding is a welcome and intersectional investment that will spur cutting-edge research in the Massachusetts 7th while expanding economic opportunities for families across the Commonwealth. I am grateful for the Biden-Harris and Healey-Driscoll administrations for their strong support of workforce development and innovative research initiatives like these.”

Senate President Karen Spilka: 
“This award catalyzes Massachusetts’ leadership and expertise in the next generation of semiconductor technologies, and transforms how our state contributes to our military and national security. The innovations and well-paying jobs that will emerge from this funding are a direct result of the Biden-Harris Administration’s leadership on the CHIPS Act and the outstanding work of the NEMC Hub, and we are deeply thankful for the investment in Massachusetts-made technologies.”

House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano: 
“Ensuring that Massachusetts remains a driving force behind cutting edge technological development is critical, which is why the funding that the NEMC is receiving is so important. I want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration for the work that they have done to make this funding possible, as well as the Healey-Driscoll Administration for the work that they continue to do to secure federal funding for economic development in Massachusetts.” 

About the NEMC Hub  

The Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub is a network of 200+ organizations including commercial and defense companies, leading academic institutions, federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs), and startups concentrated in eight Northeast states. Established in 2023, the Hub is one of eight regional Microelectronics Commons Hubs working to expand the nation’s global leadership in microelectronics and accelerate domestic semiconductor prototyping. The NEMC Hub is a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and was established with federal CHIPS and Science Act funding under the Microelectronics Commons program and executed through the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL). The Hub fosters a vibrant, connected microelectronics ecosystem to provide sustainable lab-to-fab enablement, boost education and workforce development, and spur new jobs. Learn more at https://www.nemicroelectronics.org/.