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NY Semiconductor Site Gets $825M Funds 10/31 06:11
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A semiconductor research facility in upstate New York
was selected as one of three national technology centers and will receive up to
$825 million in funding as part of a broader federal effort to boost the United
States' competitiveness in the industry.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer made the announcement Thursday.
The Albany NanoTech complex was selected by federal officials as the
national headquarters for research into a cutting-edge semiconductor technology
known as extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, lithography. The lab will have the most
advanced chip-making machinery in the world and allow researchers from the
semiconductor industry to collaborate with their university counterparts,
according to Schumer, the Senate's Democratic majority leader.
"When you do the high-end research, which will be done here, and you can
make the most advanced chips in the world, it makes sure that our military has
the edge," Schumer said in a telephone interview. "It makes sure our economy
and our companies have the cutting edge, as well,"
The National Semiconductor Technology Center Extreme Ultraviolet Accelerator
is scheduled to begin operating next year. The contract for it stems from the
2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which was designed to create more high-tech jobs
and help the United States compete with international rivals like China. The
Biden administration has set a goal for the U.S. to make 20% of the world's
advanced chips.
The Albany lab's selection also advances longstanding efforts by Schumer and
other government officials to make upstate New York a global center of
semiconductor research and manufacturing.
Gov. Kathy Hochul late last year announced a partnership with the
semiconductor industry to fund construction of the EUV Center.
The Biden administration announced in February that the government would
provide $1.5 billion to the computer chip company GlobalFoundries to expand its
domestic production north of Albany and in Vermont. And in April, the
administration announced an agreement to provide $6.1 billion in government
support for Micron Technology to produce advanced memory computer chips near
Syracuse, New York; and in Boise, Idaho.
"This is going to make upstate New York the center of semiconductor
research, not just for America, but for the world," Schumer said.
The Department of Commerce has not yet announced where the other two
national technology centers will be.
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