US BAE fab gets $35M CHIPS Act funding
Funding to help upgrade one of the only US domestic defence-centric six-inch GaAs and GaN HEMT wafer foundries
The US Department of Commerce has announced approximately $35 million in initial funding for BAE Systems to modernise the Microelectronics Center (MEC) in Nashua, New Hampshire.
MEC is an 110,000-square-foot, Department of Defense (DoD)-accredited, chip fabrication facility that is one of the only domestic defence-centric six-inch GaAs and GaN HEMT wafer foundries.
This is the first funding announcement as part of the CHIPS and Science Act, which was designed to strengthen American manufacturing, supply chains, and national security.
The approximately $35 million in funding will be coupled with ongoing investment in modernisation and R&D by BAE Systems. The funding will help purchase new manufacturing tools to mitigate supply chain risk, increase production capacity, and reduce time-to-build product. The increased efficiency will enable a scale-up in production to meet increasing demand for DoD technology and provide critical microelectronics to non-defense industries including satellite communications, and test and measurement equipment markets.
“We have been clear since day one that the CHIPS for America Program is about advancing our national security and strengthening domestic supply chains, all while creating good jobs supporting long-term US economic growth. As national security becomes as much about the chips inside of our weapons systems as the weapons systems themselves, this first CHIPS announcement shows how central semiconductors are to our national defense,” said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, we have reached preliminary terms to make a substantial investment in New Hampshire’s expanding defence industrial base, which will help make our country and supply chains more secure and bolster the economy of the Granite State.”
Local and state commitments contributed to the funding application. As a result, both the state of New Hampshire and the City of Nashua are offering workforce incentives through Nashua Community College (NCC). The state of New Hampshire will provide tuition assistance for NCC’s microelectronics bootcamp and the Nashua City Council is providing funds to establish a new clean room training course at NCC.
