Commerce Department Selects 31 Tech Hubs to Compete for $500 Million in Capacity-Building Funds

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Oct. 23 about the new Tech Hubs and how they relate to his administration’s broader economic strategy.
(The White House)
On Monday, the Commerce Department announced
Among the hubs, 11 are focused on biotechnology, seven on clean energy and critical minerals, four on semiconductor manufacturing, four on advanced materials manufacturing, three on autonomous systems, and two on quantum technology.
The program is one of several hub-based funding schemes created by the CHIPS and Science Act that aim to spread the benefits of R&D funding around the country, particularly to less-established regions for technology development. President Joe Biden emphasized this goal in a speech
Hubs program grapples with high demand
The Commerce Department anticipates providing five to 10 of the selected hubs with between $50 million to $75 million in implementation funding each.
Congress has provided the program an initial appropriation of $500 million, though the CHIPS and Science Act called for Congress to allocate a total of $10 billion over five years.
In tandem with the hub designations, the department issued 29 strategy development grants to support applications for implementation grants, with 11 of the development grants going to programs that also won a hub designation.
The winners were selected from more than 370 applicants. Emphasizing the deep interest in the program, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a recent Senate hearing
For instance, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) pressed her for details on how the program would support rural states. She replied, “I promise you some will be rural. I cannot promise you it will be Montana, but I promise you some will be rural.” Montana did end up receiving funding for the Headwaters Hub,
The CHIPS and Science Act required that at least three hubs be designated in each of the six regions
Five states did not receive any development grants and are not included in any of the designated hubs: Hawaii, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and New Mexico.
Quantum hubs build on ecosystems in Colorado and Illinois
The two hubs focused on quantum technology are Elevate Quantum Colorado,
Elevate Quantum Colorado is a consortium of more than 70 organizations, including 17 companies and industry groups, 13 universities, and five federal labs. Some of the participants are in the neighboring states of New Mexico and Wyoming. The Bloch Tech Hub is led by the Chicago Quantum Exchange, itself a consortium of universities and national labs in the region.
The Chicago Quantum Exchange is also one of 16 finalists
NSF stated