Editorial: Federal tech hub funding is big win

Two years after the passage of the CHIPS Act, the promise of high-tech economic development is taking shape in Indiana.

As IBJ’s Cate Charron reported, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration last week awarded $51 million to Indiana’s Heartland BioWorks Hub, making it one of 12 federally designated technology hubs nationwide that will receive funding.

It’s a huge win for the state, where several leaders have been building the foundation for Indiana to become a high-tech center.

Key among them is Indiana’s own Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young, who played a huge role in getting the CHIPS Act to the finish line, joining with President Biden and other Democrats to make it a priority.

The CHIPS Act, short for Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors Act, is critical in reducing the national-security risk posed by American reliance on China for computer chips.

It’s also key for Indiana and other states in the middle of the country to continue to build a technology industry for the future that isn’t dominated by coastal cities.

Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. already have been successful in landing major investments in semiconductor manufacturing.

In April, South Korea-based semiconductor chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. announced plans to establish a nearly $4 billion advanced packaging fabrication and research and development facility for microelectronics in the Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette.

Former Gov. Mitch Daniels, previously Purdue’s president, also deserves credit for positioning the university and its research park to lure such a high-tech investment by developing a culture and talent pipeline known for cutting-edge technology.

The good news doesn’t stop there. The Indiana-based Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons Hub also has been awarded $33 million from the U.S. Department of Defense for tech research.

And the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, of which Indiana is a key member, is slated to receive $1 billion for projects related to clean energy.

While that award is separate from the CHIPS Act, it only adds to the synergy building to help make Indiana a national tech center in the years to come.

The awards make Indiana the only state with a hand in three federal innovation hubs, which put the state in a strong position to attract more high-tech companies here and build the talented workforce needed to serve them.

The Heartland BioWorks Hub, for instance, plans to use its $51 million federal award for high-tech workforce training and to support early-stage companies.

The Silicon Crossroads Microelectronic Commons Hub will focus on advancing U.S. technology leadership in the areas of AI, computing, 5G/6G, quantum technology, electromagnetic warfare and commercial “leap forward’ technologies.

The bottom line is that the CHIPS Act is not just revving up semiconductor manufacturing in the United States; as we’ve noted previously, it’s also helping to build the technological infrastructure required to create the innovations needed for the future.•

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