Month: January 2022

01.13.22

Last Year, Schumer Brought Sec. Raimondo To Albany To Pitch Capital Region As The Home Of Future National Semiconductor Center; Schumer Doubles Down On Effort & Calls On Top Brass To Tour Albany Nanotech Campus & See World-Class Facility Firsthand

 New +30 Partner National Coalition – Including IBM, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, SUNY, RPI, & MIT, Combined With Unique Support For Startups And Workforce– Makes NY Ideal Spot For NSTC

Schumer To Commerce Department: Come See For Yourself Everything Albany Has To Offer — Albany Nanotech For The NSTC Is A Win-Win-Win; Will Create 1,000+ Good Paying NY Jobs, Supercharge American Manufacturing for the National Semiconductor Industry, And Maintain Global U.S. Tech Leadership

After years of staunch advocacy to invest in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and R&D, including in New York, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer successfully passed his U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) in the Senate and immediately brought Secretary Raimondo to the Capital Region to pitch the Albany Nanotech Complex as the ideal hub for the nation’s first National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) and National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), two programs that will be funded by USICA.

To continue this momentum, in a letter sent this week, Schumer directly urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves to tap New York’s premier assets for positioning the U.S. to lead the global chip industry, including the multibillion dollar Albany Nanotech Complex, which he personally invited them to visit to see first-hand how it is a model for the NSTC and NAPMP. Schumer also revealed that Albany Nanotech has assembled a national coalition of over 30 partners across industry, academia, and economic development to compete to be the central hub for the NSTC and NAPMP.

“As Secretary Raimondo heard this summer: Upstate New York’s unique combination of a robust semiconductor supply chain, world-class workforce, sites primed for investment that feature low-cost reliable power and water infrastructure, renowned higher education institutions, and premier facilities like the Albany Nanotech Complex means it has all the ingredients to power and revive the U.S. chip industry, including serving as the hub for the nation’s first National Semiconductor Technology Center and Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program. Now, it’s time for the Commerce Department to see this unique cauldron of innovation and groundbreaking, collaborative research first-hand,” said Senator Schumer. “I wrote and championed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act with Upstate New York and facilities like the Albany Nanotech at the forefront of my mind. That is why I personally invited Secretary Raimondo and Deputy Secretary Graves with me to the Capital Region to join me for a tour to see for the first time just how ideally Albany Nanotech’s national partnerships and infrastructure are uniquely suited to lead the NSTC, quickly serve the needs of the nation’s semiconductor industry, and supercharge American chip production and leadership in technology.” 

“NY CREATES has a track record of building connections and capabilities with emerging technology ecosystem partners in academia, industry and government,” said Paul Kelly, Chief Operating Officer, NY CREATES. “Whether it’s working with SUNY and private universities, start-up companies or global leaders, we are actively engaged with a broad cross-section of partners and working to advance technology development in areas ranging from computing to nano-biology. Albany Nanotech’s existing facilities and ecosystem of more than 20 innovative partners collaborating on leading edge semiconductor R&D should be the model for greater national collaboration for the future NSTC.” 

“In just the past few months, the Albany Nanotech innovation ecosystem has delivered major leaps forward in semiconductor technology, from unlocking the promise of 2-nanometer technology to chip designs that could cut energy consumption up to 85 percent. No other site in the country is as well suited to accelerate and expand access to American chip innovation than New York’s unique ecosystem, including the Albany Nanotech Complex and a network of universities and small and large businesses that reaches across the state and country,” said Darío Gil, Senior Vice President, IBM and Director of Research.

Schumer included in USICA $52 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations to implement the semiconductor-related manufacturing and R&D programs he had successfully pushed to authorize in the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act; including $10.5 billion appropriated upfront and allocated over 5 years to implement programs like the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), and other R&D programs. Funds will also support legacy chip production at companies like GlobalFoundries that is essential to the auto industry, the military, and other critical industries. Schumer is now actively working with President Biden and Speaker Pelosi for the House to move USICA to final passage into law.

Schumer said that Albany Nanotech is the most “shovel-ready” R&D facility in the country to quickly stand up the NSTC and NAPMP. Albany Nanotech is the most advanced, publicly-owned, 300-millimeter semiconductor R&D facility, has well established partnerships with industry leaders and top academic research institutions, including in critical logic and packaging capabilities, and is set up to immediately begin supporting the needs of the broader semiconductor ecosystem, including startups, small businesses, and the workforce. New York is currently home to 88 semiconductor companies that employ over 34,000 New Yorkers, including global industry leaders like GlobalFoundries, Wolfspeed, onsemi, and IBM. In addition, New York offers shovel ready sites primed for further investment by the semiconductor industry, including: White Pine in Central New York, Marcy Nanocenter in the Mohawk Valley, and STAMP in Western New York.

Senator Schumer has a long history of fighting to advance semiconductor manufacturing and R&D in Upstate New York. Last year, Schumer  brought Secretary Raimondo to Malta, NY to announce GlobalFoundries’ plans to build a second chip fab to focus primarily on auto and military chip production, creating thousands of construction and permanent jobs, on top of the 3,000 workers that GlobalFoundries already employs in Malta, and helping to expand domestic supply chains of critical chip technology. During this visit, Schumer also arranged for a meeting between Secretary Raimondo and Albany Nanotech stakeholders, including NY CREATES and IBM, to discuss how New York is well-positioned to quickly stand up the NSTC to serve the needs of the nation’s semiconductor industry. Since that meeting, a coalition of over 30 national partners from industry, academia, and economic development has formed to prepare for Albany Nanotech’s application to compete for the NSTC and NAPMP.  

A copy of Schumer’s letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Deputy Secretary Don Graves appears below:

Dear Secretary Raimondo and Deputy Secretary Graves:

I first want to thank you and President Biden for your leadership in strengthening domestic supply chains and ensuring the U.S. remains on the cutting-edge of new research and development (R&D). As you know, I led the effort to pass in the Senate the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) to advance these efforts. Given the chip shortage faced by the nation and that the U.S. is losing its leadership role in the chip industry, I prioritized the inclusion of $52 billion in emergency spending to implement the semiconductor manufacturing and R&D programs that I successfully pushed to authorize in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283). As we work with the House to pass a final USICA bill into law and as the Administration begins planning for implementation of the semiconductor programs, I want to highlight for you the central role New York can play in quickly expanding domestic chip production and enhancing the nation’s R&D leadership. In particular, New York is perfectly positioned as a model for the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) and National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), and I would invite you and your team back to New York to see first-hand New York’s premier assets for the nation’s competitiveness in the semiconductor industry.

Decades of private and public investment has positioned New York as a leader in the semiconductor industry. New York is currently home to 88 semiconductor companies that employ over 34,000 New Yorkers, including global industry leaders like GlobalFoundries, Wolfspeed, onsemi, and IBM. New York is primed to support an expansion of domestic chip production, as you saw first-hand in your participation in GlobalFoundries’ announcement last year of their plans to build a second fab in the Albany region. The state also offers several shovel ready sites: White Pine in Central New York, Marcy Nanocenter in the Mohawk Valley, and STAMP in Western New York. These sites all offer low-cost, reliable water and power infrastructure and access to a world-class workforce.

Additionally, New York is home to the multibillion-dollar Albany Nanotech Complex, affiliated with the State University of New York (SUNY). Albany Nanotech is the most “shovel-ready” R&D site in North America, comprising the most advanced, publicly-owned, 300-millimeter semiconductor R&D facility. Albany Nanotech is led by NY CREATES, which serves as a resource for public-private and academic partnerships not only across the state but also the world. The Albany facility also specializes in commercialization projects, enabling access to semiconductor design and prototyping for startups, smaller businesses, and universities, as well as helping to attract investment for entrepreneurs. In fact, Albany Nanotech is already set up to help startups and the broader ecosystem and can help create hundreds of new U.S. semiconductor companies as the NSTC. This capability allows Albany Nanotech to uniquely fulfill a necessary goal of the NSTC of serving the needs of the entire domestic semiconductor ecosystem, and not just larger companies.

Furthermore, Albany Nanotech is well positioned to develop the nation’s semiconductor workforce with strong university partnerships across the SUNY system and with top engineering schools like Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Cornell, Clarkson, Columbia, and Rochester Institute of Technology. Albany Nanotech also has developed partnerships with premier universities outside of New York like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, and University of Arizona and is focused on working with community colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to prioritize the development of a diverse workforce for the industry. Additionally, late last year, SUNY Polytechnic Institute announced that they have developed with a collaboration of companies a Career Alignment Platform initiative, which is partially funded by $1.25 million from the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, to provide students and existing workers with training and career pathway support through the Albany Nanotech Complex to access jobs in the semiconductor industry.

From a technical perspective, Albany Nanotech works with several industry leaders and end-users, with a focus on logic and packaging capabilities, among many others. These industry partners include IBM, Applied Materials, onsemi, Saab, Lockheed-Martin, Tokyo Electron Ltd., and Wolfspeed. New York is also home to the federally-funded AIM Photonics Manufacturing USA institute, a cutting-edge packaging R&D program, which combined with Danfoss’s power electronics packaging facility in Marcy, NY, among other assets, positions the state to achieve meaningful and quick outcomes for the NAPMP.

In preparation to compete for the NSTC and NAPMP, I am pleased to share that Albany Nanotech has already started to build a national coalition of over 30 partners across industry and academia. Establishing Albany Nanotech as the central hub for NSTC and NAPMP would allow the Federal government to leverage billions of dollars in other public and private investment that has stood up cutting-edge R&D infrastructure and partnerships that will ensure in a matter of months that real results can be achieved by the NSTC and NAPMP for companies of all sizes and the broader domestic semiconductor industry. Time is of the essence for our nation’s competitiveness, and Albany Nanotech is uniquely suited to drive the rapid progress America needs.

I appreciate all of your partnership to date on passing USICA into law and look forward to continuing to work with you on implementation of these critical programs, including investment in New York to advance the nation’s competitiveness. I also am very appreciative that you took time during your Albany visit last year to meet with Albany Nanotech stakeholders to begin to learn about the unique, highly effective public-private model they offer for NSTC and the NAPMP. I invite you and your team to join me in now touring the Albany Nanotech Complex so you can see the facility, as well as be briefed on Albany Nanotech’s newly formed coalition of national partners brought together to prepare for implementation of the NSTC and NAPMP. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

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