The Department of Commerce has launched the first funding opportunity for incentives to reinstate U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, further economic and national security priorities and create well-paid jobs across the industry under the CHIPS for America program.
On Tuesday, the department’s National Institute of Standards announced that it is accepting proposals for projects to build, modernize or expand commercial facilities for manufacturing current-generation, mature-node and leading-edge semiconductors, including front-end wafer fabrication and back-end packaging.
In the statement, NIST called on potential applicants to submit statements of interest so the CHIPS Program Office is able to assess interest in the program and prepare for application review.
Applications should address six program priority areas: economic and national security, commercial viability, financial strength, project technical feasibility and readiness, workforce development and broader impacts.
The opportunity will provide direct funding through grants and cooperative agreements, federal loans or federal guarantees of third-party loans and falls under the CHIPS and Science Act, under which the Commerce Department is overseeing $50 billion in funds to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry.
In late spring, the department intends to issue a new funding opportunity for materials and manufacturing equipment facilities and in the fall, it aims to announce an additional opportunity for research and development facilities.