The Biden administration has awarded $504 million to 12 regional technology hubs that will support research initiatives in areas such as quantum computing, chip production and autonomous driving.  

The White House announced the move today. The research centers that are set to receive funding are located in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Each hub will receive a grant worth between $19 million and $51 million. 

“These Tech Hubs will give regions across our nation the resources and opportunities necessary to lead in the economy of tomorrow while creating good-paying jobs for American workers,” said Vice President Kamala Harris.

Several of the new centers will focus on fields that are also being prioritized by the tech industry. In New York, the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub will work to enhance regional chip manufacturing capabilities. Another technology hub, in Oklahoma, will develop autonomous vehicles for markets such as the agricultural and transportation sectors.

The Elevate Quantum Tech Hub in Colorado will focus on more nascent technologies. In particular, researchers at the facility will explore new ways of applying quantum computers to fields such as artificial intelligence and sustainability. The healthcare sector is another area that the researchers plan to prioritize in the work. 

According to the White House, four of the hubs that will receive funding are set to focus on sustainability initiatives. One of those facilities will seek to build a “full lithium lifecycle cluster, spanning extraction, processing, manufacturing, and recycling.” Four more regional hubs will host biotechnology initiatives spanning areas such as drug development and personalized medicine.

The researchers working at the hubs also plan to pursue research initiatives in a range of other fields. The iFAB Tech Hub in Illinois, for example, will develop “precision fermentation” technology capable of turning unused corn into new products. The center’s staffers plan to make food ingredients, chemicals and other materials.

“Regional Tech Hubs will strengthen American leadership in industries of the future, create jobs, and spur economic growth in all of America,” the White House stated.

The initiative was launched through the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which allocated $39 billion worth of direct grants to the chip sector. Semiconductor companies will also have access to $75 billion in loans and loan guarantees.

In March, Intel Corp. won $19.5 billion worth of CHIPS Act grants and loans to expand its domestic chip infrastructure. Most of the funds will reportedly go towards developing the company’s Intel 18A manufacturing process, which is expected to launch next year. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and other chip industry players have also received billions of dollars in CHIPS Act financing since the start of the year. 

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