Upstate Gains Two Federally Funded Tech Hubs
Randy Wolken, President & CEO
This week, President Joe Biden announced the designation of 31 tech hubs throughout the country. This includes two hubs in Upstate New York including extensive consortium participants. The selection follows a nationwide competition that attracted 378 applications from 48 states and three territories.
Each of the 31 winning hubs will focus on a different type of technology, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, clean energy, precision medicine, and biotech. The goal of this federal program is to grow economies in communities like Upstate New York. Also, the federal investment is designed to assist in the development of new technologies that give the U.S. a competitive edge against other nations while helping to train a new workforce of tech workers.
These tech hubs are eligible for a total $10 billion spread throughout the country in order to create Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs. These hubs are being created to stimulate investment in places outside of traditional technology locations. Such hubs have typically been concentrated in a few places such as Silicon Valley, Boston, and Austin, Texas. Each hub will have the goal of strengthening a region’s capacity to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy technology that makes the United States more competitive in the global economy.
Our Upstate Hubs are the New Energy New York Battery Tech Hub (NENY Tech Hub) and the New York Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research Technology Innovation Corridor (NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub).
The New Energy New York Battery Tech Hub (NENY Tech Hub), led by the State University of New York (SUNY) Binghamton, aims to bolster battery technology development and manufacturing across the entire value chain.
This Tech Hub will expand on the momentum of a growing battery manufacturing cluster in the Southern Tier of New York by engaging with the state’s first battery gigafactory, the region’s 700+ small and medium-sized manufacturers, and the nation’s first battery pilot manufacturing and development center. The NENY Battery Tech Hub seeks to address critical gaps in the domestic battery supply chain and meet the growing demand for energy storage, a crucial part of the clean energy transition.
The Lead Agency is The Research Foundation for the State University of New York and is intended to serve New York. The Applicant-Defined Region includes the Southern Tier of New York, comprising 14 counties with approximately one million residents that spans three Economic Development Districts (ST West: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua; ST Central: Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben; and ST: Broome, Tioga, Tompkins, Otsego, Cortland, Delaware, Schoharie, Chenango). The Core Technology Area is end-to-end battery development and manufacturing.
The New York Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research Technology Innovation Corridor (NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub), led by CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity, aims to enhance regional semiconductor manufacturing capabilities while ensuring economic opportunity for underserved communities.
This Tech Hub will coordinate across the region’s significant semiconductor fabrication investments, adjacent supply chain assets, scientific capabilities coalitions, and partner coalitions to establish an entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem that provides career pathways and employment opportunities to the region’s historically underserved communities. In doing so, the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub seeks to cement its position as a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain sustainability.
The lead is CenterState CEO and will serve New York with the Applicant-Defined Region including Buffalo; Rochester; and Syracuse MSAs and Ithaca; Auburn; and Batavia MSAs in Upstate New York. The Core Technology Area is semiconductor manufacturing.
MACNY, and its members, are excited to be a part of these newly established Tech Hubs. We look forward to working with companies throughout New York State who are in these tech areas or want to become connected to those areas of technology. This is only the first step in developing the tech hubs. We will bring you more information as it becomes available.
For more information, visit https://www.eda.gov/news/press-release/2023/10/23/biden-harris-administration-designates-31-tech-hubs-across-america.