SCHUMER APPLAUDS MAJOR $10 BILLION PARTNERSHIP – SPURRED BY HIS CHIPS & SCIENCE ACT – WITH GOVERNOR HOCHUL & SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY LEADERS TO BRING NEW MAJOR EXPANSION TO THE ALBANY NANOTECH COMPLEX WITH NATION’S MOST ADVANCED R&D TECHNOLOGY; WITH NEW FUNDING, SENATOR DOUBLES DOWN TO GET FEDS TO DESIGNATE NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY CENTER IN THE CAPITAL REGION
Schumer Says New Public-Private Partnership, Spurred From Demand By His CHIPS & Science Law, Further Positions The Capital Region As The Ideal Leading Hub For The National Semiconductor Technology Center And Schumer Is Going All Out To Land This Major Fed Investment Now That We Have Entered The Homestretch
The Albany NanoTech Campus Will Become North America’s First and Only High NA Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Public-Private Center – Creating At Least 700 Direct Jobs, Hundreds Of Union Construction Jobs, Bolstering Workforce Training, And Bringing Some Of World’s Most Advanced Machinery To The Capital Region
Schumer: Capital Region Has Landed a $10 Billion Rocket-Chip To Further Upstate NY As The Global Center Of Semiconductor Research
Building on years of advocacy to elevate Upstate NY and Albany NanoTech as a global center for semiconductor research and manufacturing, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced, alongside Governor Hochul, a $10 billion public-private partnership with leaders from the semiconductor industry including IBM, Micron, and others to bring a major new expansion with investment in the world’s most cutting-edge semiconductor machinery to the University at Albany’s NanoTech Complex. Schumer said that the partnership will further propel Albany NanoTech as the premier global center for semiconductor research, and now as we enter the homestretch he is going all out to land the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) that was established in his CHIPS & Science Act in the Capital Region.
“This is a landmark day for the Capital Region. With this groundbreaking $10 billion public-private partnership, spurred by my CHIPS and Science Act, industry has made it clear: the Albany NanoTech Complex is home to America’s semiconductor R&D future. This historic partnership will bring the most cutting-edge machinery in the world to Upstate NY, helping make discoveries that engineers today cannot even fathom – ensuring the U.S. leads the world in semiconductor innovation and manufacturing and bringing us closer to turning science fiction into reality by producing microchips smaller than a nanometer, right here in the Capital Region,” said Senator Schumer. “Now as we enter the homestretch for the ultimate prize of landing the National Semiconductor Technology Center here in the Capital Region, this funding will lay the foundation to make it happen and I am going all out to bring home these major federal dollars to New York.”
Schumer added, “This $10 billion means hundreds of new high-paying tech and construction jobs, along with scientists and leading companies from around the world turning to the Capital Region as the place where they conduct their research. I wrote the CHIPS & Science Act because I knew it would be transformative for Upstate New York, which was perfectly suited to bring this industry that is vital to America’s national security and economic future back from overseas. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York has not only answered the call put out by the feds, but helped create a national model with unprecedented investment in every corner of Upstate NY and today’s announcement is just the latest example of how New York is leading our nation in developing the next generation of technology.”
New York State is investing $1 billion to expand the Albany NanoTech Complex, leveraging at least $9 billion in private spending and investment, spurred by the increase investment in semiconductor innovation and manufacturing from Schumer’s CHIPS & Science Law. Specifically, NY CREATES plans to use this major investment by New York State to acquire and install a High NA EUV lithography machine, the most advanced semiconductor equipment ever made, designed and manufactured by ASML, at its Albany NanoTech Complex. This will give industry partners including Micron, IBM, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, and other key companies access to ASML’s EXE:5200 High NA EUV scanner and other highly sophisticated equipment vital to making breakthrough discoveries in semiconductor research and development. In addition, state funding will boost the construction of NanoFab Reflection space, a new, highly sophisticated building with more than 50,000 square feet of cleanroom space. According to New York State, the project is expected to create at least 700 new direct jobs, support thousands of jobs already at the facility, and hundreds of construction jobs throughout the major expansion. Once built, New York’s High NA EUV Center will position the Capital Region as a one of the most advanced semiconductor research and development facilities in the world, helping attract scientists from around the globe, leading companies in the industry, and international partnerships to establish and expand their presence at Albany NanoTech.
Schumer said that this major public-private partnership further strengthens Albany NanoTech as the ideal major hub for the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) that was established in the CHIPS and Science Act. The site and its partners have a long record of accomplishment of groundbreaking research, that will only be supercharged by this addition of the new High NA EUV Center, that will make the Capital Region as the only place in North America and one of only two public institutions in the world to host this new advanced technology needed make the next generation of microchips. Two years ago, IBM announced the successful development of the world’s first 2 nanometer (nm) microchip – with the R&D work done at the Albany NanoTech Complex, the same site that produced the world’s first 7nm and 5nm chips, and the new technology acquired in today’s multibillion dollar investment will help continue this record of success.
Last month, the Department of Commerce announced it has reached an initial agreement with a new nonprofit organization called SemiUS, the expected operator for the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). This follows the Department’s recent announcement that an independent committee selected the inaugural Board of Trustees of this new nonprofit organization. Early planned activities at SemiUS will include hiring a Chief Executive Officer and an executive team, establishing a membership structure for the consortium, and developing a timeline for the sequencing of program activities, which are expected to commence in 2024, including the first announcements of major funding awards to leading hubs of the NSTC.
Schumer has fought tirelessly to lift up the Capital Region and Upstate New York as a major hub to lead the nation in semiconductor manufacturing and research. Most recently, Schumer, in a personal meeting in Seoul with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, secured a commitment that the Republic of Korea will partner with NY CREATES on advanced semiconductor technology research & development at the Albany NanoTech Complex. This past September, Schumer announced that following his push, NORDTECH, a New York-based consortium led by NY CREATES in partnership with Cornell, RPI, the University at Albany CNSE, and IBM, was one of the first major recipients of funding through his CHIPS & Science Act, securing $40 million through the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Microelectronic Commons Program. Earlier this year, Schumer also personally invited NY CREATES head Dave Anderson to President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address to highlight his push to land the NSTC in the Capital Region. Prior to the passage of the CHIPS & Science Act, Schumer not only brought the Commerce Secretary to Malta to highlight opportunities for expansion at GlobalFoundries and across Upstate New York’s semiconductor industry, but also arranged for Secretary Raimondo to meet with NY CREATES and industry leaders, including from IBM and Applied Materials, to discuss the unique assets the region has for leading the NSTC. Schumer also brought Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves to Albany to tour the Albany NanoTech Complex and see firsthand how the Capital Region is perfectly suited to stand up the NSTC and begin boosting the nation’s semiconductor industry.
Additionally, after years of relentless advocacy, Schumer secured in October the prestigious federal Tech Hub designation for the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region, putting Upstate NY further on the road to becoming America’s semiconductor superhighway. Schumer pulled out all the stops to bolster the tri-city region to beat out hundreds of other applications in the nationwide competition. The proposal called the “NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub” will build on the historic investments Schumer delivered that have spurred a boom in semiconductor manufacturing and innovation across Upstate NY and with today’s designation, will now be in an exclusive group of only 31 regions in America to compete for potentially billions in federal funding to transform Upstate NY as a global hub for workforce training, innovation, and manufacturing of semiconductor technology, complimenting efforts to make Albany a major hub for the NSTC.
Thanks to Schumer’s CHIPS and Science Act, Upstate New York has seen a major revival in tech manufacturing. Micron has announced an historic $100 billion investment to build a cutting-edge memory fab in Central New York, GlobalFoundries is considering an expansion in the Capital Region, and Wolfspeed recently opened the first, largest, and only 200mm silicon carbide fabrication facility in the world in the Mohawk Valley. Menlo Micro, who also does research out of Albany Nanotech, recently announced an over $50 million investment to build their first domestic microelectronics fab facility in Tompkins County, creating over 100 new good-paying jobs. In addition, Upstate New York also is home to suppliers like Corning Incorporated, which manufacturers glass critical to the microchip industry at its Canton and Fairport, NY plants, and Edwards Vacuum, recently announced a $300+ million investment to build a dry pump manufacturing facility to support the chip industry in the Western New York.
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