The administration invited chip makers to apply for the first CHIPS for America funding opportunity for manufacturing incentives. As part of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, the Department of Commerce is overseeing $50 billion to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry, including those used in cell phones. The money includes $39 billion in semiconductor incentives.
The first funding opportunity seeks applications for projects to construct, expand, or modernize commercial facilities for the production of leading-edge, current-generation, and mature-node semiconductors. The Commerce Department plans to release a funding opportunity for semiconductor materials and equipment facilities in the late spring, and one for research and development facilities in the fall.
Chipmakers must agree not to expand capacity in China for a decade if they are to receive money from a $39 billion federal fund designed to build a U.S. semiconductor industry, according to the new rules. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo emphasized that the department would implement safeguards to ensure the program was not abused, reports Ars Technica.
“Recipients will be required to enter into an agreement restricting their ability to expand semiconductor manufacturing capacity in foreign countries of concern for a period of 10 years after taking the money,” said Raimondo, who did not mention China by name. She added that companies that received funding must also not “knowingly engage in any joint research or technology licensing effort with a foreign entity of concern that involves sensitive technologies or products.”
Raimondo also said the money can’t be used on stock buybacks. “This is about investing in our national security, not enabling these companies to use our money to increase their profits.”
CHIPS for America released a “Vision for Success,” laying out strategic objectives. To advance U.S. economic and national security, the Department aims to reach the following goals by the end of the decade:
- make the U.S. home to at least two, new large-scale clusters of leading-edge logic chip fabs,
- make the U.S. home to multiple, high-volume advanced packaging facilities,
- produce high-volume leading-edge memory chips, and
- increase production capacity for current-generation and mature-node chips, especially for critical domestic industries.
The first funding opportunity details the application process and outlines how the Department will evaluate applications, including a primary focus on how projects advance U.S. economic and national security. Applications will also be evaluated for commercial viability, financial strength, technical feasibility and readiness, workforce development, and efforts to spur inclusive economic growth, according to the Commerce Department.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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