Over $221 million has been announced for Colorado to revitalize semiconductor manufacturing, shore up supply chains, spur American innovation, and create thousands of good-paying jobs
Biden-Harris Administration designated Colorado as a Quantum Tech Hub, which will make the Rocky Mountain West the Silicon Valley of quantum computing
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper celebrated the two year anniversary of the bipartisan CHIPS + Science Act he helped negotiate and pass.
“Thanks to our CHIPS + Science Act, the U.S. is reclaiming our title as the champion for innovation. Colorado is launching us into the future as we reinvigorate American manufacturing, create good-paying jobs, and lower costs,” said Hickenlooper.
The CHIPS + Science Act is a bipartisan innovation and competition law to help lower costs, grow the U.S. semiconductor industry, and boost investments in research & development. The legislation will help the American economy maintain leadership over China in research, development, and emerging technologies while safeguarding our national security.
Hickenlooper helped write the bipartisan CHIPS + Science Act as a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the then-Chair of the Space and Science Subcommittee overseeing key science agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He was also a member of the Conference Committee tasked with resolving differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Hickenlooper presided over the final vote of the legislation in the Senate, and President Biden signed it into law on August 9, 2022.
Colorado has received over $221 million in funding from the CHIPS + Science Act in the two years since it was signed into law. For a map of investments, click HERE.
MAKING COLORADO THE FUTURE OF QUANTUM TECH
In July, Hickenlooper cheered the Department of Commerce’s announcement that Colorado’s Elevate Quantum has been awarded $40.5 million in federal funding to build the nation’s leading quantum ecosystem and create 10,000+ new jobs in quantum industries, train 30,000 new workers, and support over 50 new quantum startups in the next decade. Their work to accelerate quantum technologies will drive drug discovery, discover sources of critical minerals, provide secure encrypted communications, and enhance the capabilities of space-based navigation systems or Earth observation satellites.
The Elevate Quantum Tech Hub is based in Boulder, and includes partnerships with over 120 organizations across Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. This historic investment will activate additional commitments of $74 million in state funding and over $1 billion in private capital to establish the Mountain West as a global leader in developing, manufacturing, and commercializing quantum technologies.
BRINGING MANUFACTURING JOBS BACK TO AMERICA AND SHORING UP OUR SEMICONDUCTOR SUPPLY CHAINS
In January, the Department of Commerce announced that Microchip Technology will receive $162 million in federal funding under the second-ever CHIPS + Science Act investment to significantly increase U.S. production of semiconductors critical to the automotive, commercial, industrial, defense, and aerospace industries. The total investment includes $90 million that will specifically create over 400 jobs across the Pikes Peak region.
In June, Entegris signed an agreement with the Department of Commerce for up to $75 million to support the construction of Entegris’ state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing center in Colorado Springs. The investment will onshore critical semiconductor supply chain and manufacturing materials for leading-edge chip production and create approximately 600 manufacturing jobs and 500 construction jobs by 2030.
The first-ever allocation from the CHIPS + Science Act awarded $39.8 million for the Microelectronics Commons Southwest Regional Hub, a collaborative Southwestern partnership of regional technology leaders, including the University of Colorado Boulder, and private sector firms to accelerate and enhance research efforts in the microchip sector to support defense and national security goals.
SPURRING AMERICAN INNOVATION THROUGH RESEARCH AND SCIENCE
In January, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced the first-ever NSF Regional Innovation Engines, including the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine, which will be headquartered in Colorado. The Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine won designation and an initial $15 million federal award thanks to a robust startup ecosystem and research capacity in its universities with deep expertise in scientific fields and technologies central to climate resiliency, including monitoring methane emissions, soil carbon capture, Earth sensing, water availability predicting, wildfire risk/prediction, and extreme weather modeling.
In May 2023, the Catalyst Campus for Technology and Innovation in Colorado Springs also received a $1 million development award under the NSF Regional Innovation Engines Program to enhance its proposal to research and develop key aerospace technologies under the Resilient Space Infrastructures, Systems, and Economy (RISE) Project which includes partners such as Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, Exponential Impact, National Cybersecurity Center, Pikes Peak State College, Space Foundation, Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), and University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
The NSF Engines program is one of the single largest investments in place-based research and development in the nation’s history and was created by the CHIPS + Science Act – uniquely placing science and technology leadership as the central driver for regional economic competitiveness.
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