US President Joe Biden’s administration is providing US$162 million to Microchip Technology Inc to support the domestic production of computer chips — the second funding announcement tied to a 2022 law designed to revive US semiconductor manufacturing.
The incentives include US$90 million to improve a plant in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and US$72 million to expand a factory in Gresham, Oregon, the US Department of Commerce in a statement said.
The investments would enable Microchip to triple its domestic production and reduce its dependence on foreign factories.
Photo: Reuters
Much of the money would fund the making of microcontrollers, which are used by the military as well as in autos, household appliances and medical devices. US government officials said they expected the investments to create 700 construction and manufacturing jobs over the next decade.
US National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard said that the funding would help to tame inflation.
“Semiconductors are the key input in so many goods that are vital to our economy,” said Brainard, adding that greater US production of chips would have reduced the supply problems that caused the cost of autos and washing machines, among other goods, to rise as the country emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
In August 2022, Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which provides more than US$52 billion to boost the development and manufacturing of semiconductors in the US.
Last month, the US Department of Commerce announced the first grants by saying it reached an agreement to provide US$35 million to BAE Systems Inc, which plans to expand a New Hampshire factory making chips for military aircraft, including F-15 and F-35 jets.
More than 570 firms have expressed interest in the CHIPS Act program, and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has said the administration plans to make about a dozen awards this year.
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