The Biden Administration named 31 Tech Hubs across the United States, the first phase of the Tech Hubs program designed to drive regional innovation and job creation.
The economic development initiative is intended to strengthen a region’s capacity to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy technology that will advance American competitiveness. The program invests directly in burgeoning, high-potential U.S. regions and aims to transform them into globally competitive innovation centers.
Congress authorized the Tech Hubs program through the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, a key part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which he signed into law in August 2022.
The Tech Hubs are located across 32 states and Puerto Rico and represent a cross-section of urban and rural regions. The Tech Hubs named today extend across industries ranging from autonomous systems, quantum computing, biotechnology, precision medicine, clean energy advancement, semiconductor manufacturing, and more, and highlight how the Biden Harris Administration is investing in innovation and economic growth in every region of the United States.
The Tech Hubs that involve biotechnology include:
- Advanced Pharma Manufacturing Tech Hub– active pharma ingredient manufacturing in Virginia
- ReGen Valley Tech Hub– cells, organ, and tissue biofabrication in New Hampshire
- iFab Tech Hub– precision fermentation and biomanufacturing in Illinois
- Kansas City Inclusive Biologics and Biomanufacturing Tech Hub– vaccine-related biologics and manufacturing in Missouri and Kansas
- Heartland BioWorks– biologics manufacturing in Indiana
- PRBio Tech Hub– biopharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing in Puerto Rico
- Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub– personalized medicine in WI
- Baltimore Tech Hub– predictive healthcare in MD
- Birmingham Biotechnology Hub– equitable AI-driven biotechnology in AL
- Greater Philadelphia Region Precision Medicine Tech Hub– end to end precision medicine in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey
- Minnesota MedTech 3.0– smart medical technologies in Minnesota and Wisconsin
- Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub– sustainable wood biomass polymers in Maine
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration also awarded 29 Strategy Development Grants to help communities significantly increase local coordination and planning activities. Such development could make selected grantees more competitive for future Tech Hubs funding opportunities.
The Strategy Development Grant (SDG) Recipients are:
- Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub (*Tech Hubs Designee)
- PRBio Tech Hub (*Tech Hubs Designee)
- Southeast Biotech Collaborative (SEBC) Strategy Development Consortium
The Department of Commerce launched a second Tech Hubs Notice of Funding Opportunity, allowing these designated Tech Hubs to apply to receive between $40 million and $70 million each for implementation funding, totaling nearly $500 million.
Read the full release here.