Albany NanoTech to house national semiconductor center
Albany NanoTech will be home to the country’s first National Semiconductor Technology Center.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer made the announcement at a news conference Thursday. Schumer obtained up to $825 million in federal funding through the CHIPS & Science Law. This is part of the Biden administration’s goal to make 20% of the world’s advanced chips.
“I wrote this law. I was thinking of right here saying ‘we can write this law and then we can make us the center.’ I crafted the program with Albany NanoTech as my North Star, as my inspiration, I worked meticulously like a game of chess to put the pieces in place and help land this once-in-a-generation award,” he said.
The center will provide an economic boost to the area.
The Department of Commerce and Natcast, the operator of the center, will spend the money on equipment to conduct extreme ultraviolet (EUV) research and development.
Albany NanoTech will be one of only two facilities in the world with this advanced machinery, which is used to print patterns and make chips on computer wafers, according to a news release. Those chips will be used in smartphones, computers and to power AI.
The goal of the center is to be operational by 2025.