The Department of Commerce announced today it has reached a preliminary agreement with Micron Technology for up to $6.14 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to build leading-edge memory semiconductors in the United States.
President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law in August 2022, making up to $52 billion of funding available to incentivize semiconductor makers to establish new manufacturing operations in the United States.
The preliminary funding deal with Idaho-based Micron would support the construction of two semiconductor factories – also known as fabs – in Clay, N.Y., and one fab in Boise, Idaho. Micron is committing $50 billion in private investment by 2030, with a total investment of up to $125 billion across both states over the next two decades.
“Leading-edge memory chips are foundational to all advanced technologies, and thanks to President Biden’s leadership, America is rebuilding its capacity to produce these critical capabilities for the first time in almost two decades,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in an April 25 press release.
“With this proposed investment, we are working to deliver on one of the core objectives of President Biden’s CHIPS program – onshoring the development and production of the most advanced memory semiconductor technology which is crucial for safeguarding our leadership on artificial intelligence and protecting our economic and national security,” Raimondo added.
The three fabs funded by this investment will be dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) fabs. The Federal investment, combined with Micron’s investment, will create over 70,000 jobs and advance the company’s plans to onshore about 40 percent of its DRAM production over the next two decades.
The two fabs in New York will focus on leading-edge DRAM chip production, with eventual plans to build a “megafab” consisting of four fabs. Each fab will have 600,000 square feet of cleanrooms. These are areas where the environment is controlled to eliminate all dust – even the smallest speck of dust could impact the quality of the semiconductor.
As for the Idaho location, Micron plans to develop a high-volume manufacturing (HVM) fab, with approximately 600,000 square feet of cleanroom space focused on the production of leading-edge DRAM chips. This fab would be co-located with the company’s R&D facility.
“This is a historic moment for semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S.,” said Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. “Micron’s leading-edge memory is foundational to meeting the growing demands of artificial intelligence, and we are proud to be making significant memory manufacturing investments in the U.S., which will create many high-tech jobs.”
“We appreciate the foresight of U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and the bipartisan delegation in Congress that supported the CHIPS and Science Act. Their steadfast focus championing these strategic investments will ensure U.S. semiconductor competitiveness for generations to come,” Mehrotra added.
Today’s announcement is the Commerce Department’s seventh preliminary CHIPS and Science Act award.
President Biden traveled to Syracuse, N.Y., today to announce the preliminary agreement with Micron. Additionally, the president announced four additional Investing in America Workforce Hubs – including one in Upstate New York, which will focus on semiconductor manufacturing – along with Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Michigan.
“These hubs complement five existing Workforce Hubs, including those in Phoenix, Arizona, and Columbus, Ohio that have already catalyzed new semiconductor training programs,” according to an April 25 White House fact sheet. “These hubs will leverage and develop partnerships between companies, educational institutions, and labor unions to meet our nation’s workforce needs.”
