BOSTON, Mass. – The Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub celebrated the two-year anniversary of the national CHIPS and Science Act, joining the White House to spotlight how the federal law has made critical investments in the state’s semiconductor and microelectronics sector. The work of the NEMC Hub, a regional effort led by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) that has grown to over 200 members in its first year, contributes millions into workforce development, infrastructure projects, and programs to streamline the pathway of game-changing technologies from the lab to the marketplace.
In September 2023, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (through MassTech) led the launch of the NEMC Hub which quickly began executing on a number of shovel-ready investments and programs. With support of a $40 million match commitment from Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, the NEMC Hub was named one of eight regional hubs across the country under the Microelectronics Commons program, a program executed by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL). The ME Commons program is funded by $238 million in funding through the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to onshore the manufacturing of microelectronics and semiconductor technologies and support workforce training for these industries.
“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. “Thank you to the Department of Defense, NSWC-Crane, NSTXL and all of the federal leaders that are responsible for making the Microelectronics Commons program a reality."
“The progress of the NEMC Hub in its first year is a testament to the groundbreaking vision set by the CHIPS Act, to invest in our people and infrastructure, but also in American innovation,” said MassTech’s Deputy Director and Chief Investment Strategist Ben Linville-Engler. “The NEMC Hub and its leadership have put in the hard work to build new and strengthen existing collaborations, grow, organize, and activate our members, and deliver on the promise of these historic investments across the region.”
During its first year, the NEMC Hub has made initial investments to boost microelectronics and semiconductors, building on the federal funding through the CHIPS and Science Act.
In January 2024, the NEMC Hub supported a $40 million project with leading company Applied Materials to add advanced nano-fabrication equipment and capabilities to MIT.nano, MIT’s center for nanoscale science and engineering. The state’s $7.7 million grant from the NEMC Hub will “create a unique open-access site” that will support R&D at an “industry-compatible scale” by installing the same equipment found in high-volume, private-sector production fabrication facilities. The investment will expand MIT.nano’s existing capabilities to fabricate up to 200-millimeter (8-inch) wafers, a size essential to industry prototyping and the production of a range of semiconductors, including: silicon and compound semiconductors, power electronics, optical computing, and various analog devices that allow technology to record, measure, broadcast, and reproduce continuous data.
Since its launch in September 2023, the NEMC Hub has grown from 90 to more than 200 member organizations located across eight northeast states, including commercial and defense companies, leading academic institutions, federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs), and startups. To expand the roster of innovative companies in the region, the NEMC Hub has launched the $1 million PROPEL Manufacturing Program to accelerate the progress of innovative microelectronics technologies developed by startups and small businesses.
In March 2024, NEMC Hub submitted 15 proposals to the federal Call for Projects under the Microelectronics Commons program, developing collaborative projects that span the Hub’s membership and including partner organizations from 14 states. Proposals included submissions that covered all six of the technology focus areas outlined by NSTXL in the initial program launch, including: Secure Edge/Internet of Things Computing; 5G/6G Technology; Artificial Intelligence Hardware; Quantum Technology; Electromagnetic Warfare; and Commercial Leap Ahead.
In addition to infrastructure and startup support, the NEMC Hub has also focused on investments in workforce development to power R&D and startup development across the region. The Hub invested $1.5 million into four workforce programs that will expand student engagement and direct outreach to underrepresented groups including veterans, helping bring new workers into the fold. Projects supported include:
- A $750,000 award to MITRE to expand its successful Embedded Capture-the-Flag (eCTF) competition aimed at high school, community college, undergraduate and graduate students;
- A $250,000 award to the “veteran transition accelerator” Headlamp for its SkillBridge Fellowships program;
- An award of $75,000 to expand the existing Northeast Microelectronics Summer Internship Program (NMIP); and
- An investment of $400,000 to grow the Makers of a Better Future program, a 10-hour awareness curriculum developed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing at MassTech to educate high school students about advanced manufacturing careers.
This past May, MassTech announced the hiring of Mark Halfman to lead the NEMC Hub as the coalition’s first director, bringing several decades of career experience in the commercialization of advanced technologies in both Silicon Valley and Boston. Halfman and the NEMC Hub team are also managing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ support for proposals submitted by local companies to other federal funding opportunities backed by the CHIPS program, such as the Commercial Fabrication Facilities program managed by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
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.
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