CHIPS for America Announces New Proposed $285 Million Award

The Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Semiconductor Research Corporation Manufacturing Consortium Corporation (SRC) are entering negotiations for the department to provide SRC $285 million to establish and operate a Manufacturing USA institute headquartered in Durham, NC.

With combined funding totaling $1 billion, this investment will support the launch of the first-of-its-kind CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute. The new institute, known as SMART USA (Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins USA) will focus on efforts to develop, validate, and use digital twins to improve domestic semiconductor design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test processes.

SMART USA will join an existing network of 17 institutes designed to increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and promote a robust R&D infrastructure. SRC is an important part of North Carolina’s research ecosystem, including decades-long relationships with North Carolina’s universities.

“America’s technological leadership on the world stage depends on its ability to collaborate with the best and brightest around the globe,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Thanks to the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, we’re opening new avenues to better safeguard U.S. national security and further technological innovation with the establishment of the SMART USA Institute. With new Digital Twin capabilities, America is fostering unparalleled opportunities to collaborate with experts and researchers anywhere in the world to develop the next frontier of technological advancements in the semiconductor industry.”

Digital twins are virtual models that replicate physical objects, like chips or complex machinery. Engineers and researchers can use these virtual models to design, develop, and test processes digitally before applying them in real life.

Digital twin-based research can also leverage emerging technology like artificial intelligence to optimize chip design, improve production efficiency, and lower costs by streamlining operations and reducing the need for costly adjustments. Additionally, these technologies will expand workforce opportunities by providing real-time feedback, place-based learning, and exposure to systems previously inaccessible. Through digital twins, researchers and technicians can develop new technical skills, tools, mechanical systems, and chemicals, while protecting workplace safety.

SMART USA will convene companies, startups, researchers and academia and provide access to physical assets and novel digital capabilities, to:
• Speed up the development and adoption of advanced semiconductor technologies. By streamlining this process and reducing time-to-market, SMART USA will help accelerate innovation in U.S. chips design and manufacturing.
• Shorten the time and cost of chip production. The institute will implement efficient design and validation methods using digital twins, significantly cutting expenses and improving productivity.
• Provide training opportunities for the next generation of semiconductor workers: this includes creating programs aimed at skill development and workforce readiness.

“Digital Twin technology can unleash a new frontier for innovation in America’s semiconductor R&D ecosystem,” said Laurie E. Locascio, under secretary of commerce for standards and technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology director. “With the new SMART USA Institute, America is both expanding its semiconductor manufacturing and R&D capabilities and bolstering the domestic semiconductor R&D ecosystem that will be a key innovation engine for years to come.”