Commerce Secretary Gina Raimond testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies on February 1, 2022, in Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, USA.
Andrew Harnick | Reuters
WASHINGTON — The United States will use $52 billion in funding from the CHIPS and Science Act to create at least two large-scale logic fabs for semiconductor manufacturing by 2030, along with multiple high-volume advanced packaging facilities. , Commerce Secretary Gina Raimond announced on Thursday. .
Raimondo’s announcement comes as the ministry prepares next week to begin applying for companies to receive funding under the CHIPS Act. sign the law by President Joe Biden in August.
“Each cluster includes a robust supplier ecosystem, research and development facilities for continuous innovation of new process technologies, and specialized infrastructure,” said Raimondo of Georgetown University’s School of Diplomatic Services. told the students. “Each of these clusters will employ thousands of workers in high-paying jobs.”
A US-based manufacturing plant, known as a “fab,” will produce advanced memory chips “on economically competitive terms,” Raimondo said. The fab will also help meet the needs of current-generation and mature-node chips, which are “most critical to the economy and national security,” she added.
“These are chips that will be put into cars, medical devices, and many defenses,” she added.
The CHIPS Act was enacted to make the US more competitive in the semiconductor market against manufacturing monopolies like Taiwan, which produces 92% of the world’s most advanced chips, Raimondo said. Heavy reliance on one country for production exacerbates supply chain problems during a pandemic, raising national security concerns as disruptions in chip production could impede the production of a range of commodities. caused it.
“This is fundamentally a national security issue,” she said. “Like I said, CHIPS is about gaining technological advantage, and export controls are about maintaining it.”
Raimondo also highlighted concerns about the use of semiconductors in China’s technological weapons systems. Taiwan’s proximity to China and the possibility of Chinese aggression against Taiwan also concerns raised In the Biden administration and in Congress.
“Don’t be naive about this, China… wants (technology) to improve its military capabilities and export controls don’t get these chips to ()improve its military capabilities. It’s narrowly defined or designed to be,” Raimond told Georgetown students.
The Secretary of Commerce is schedule Invest $11 billion in what is called the National Semiconductor Technology Center.
“The vision of the center is an ambitious public-private partnership where governments, industries, customers, suppliers, educational institutions, entrepreneurs and investors come together to innovate, connect and solve problems,” said Raimondo. says. Nationwide bases aimed at “solving the industry’s most impactful, relevant, and universal R&D challenges.”
“Most importantly, the NSTC will support U.S. leadership in the next generation of semiconductor technology, from quantum computing, materials science and AI, to future applications we haven’t even thought of yet. It’s about making sure,” says Raimondo.
