Biden has big plans for 'semiconductor clusters' — will companies play along?

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The Biden administration recently has laid out ambitious plans to use government money to spur at least two new large-scale clusters of semiconductor manufacturing and research in the years ahead.

In an interview this week, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves outlined his department’s ambition for these projects. He said the application process for the money is designed to prod companies to “express to us their vision for how we drive economic development, how we drive competitiveness, not just at a local level, not just at a state level, but at a regional level.”

The funds come from about $53 billion put aside in the CHIPs and Science Act. The administration goal: achieving both a revitalization of the U.S. semiconductor industry— as well as broader political and economic goals that officials say will produce hundred of thousands of jobs in the U.S.

One model? “I look to our experience in rebuilding and bringing back from the edge of complete collapse the city of Detroit,” Graves said, referencing his time during the Obama administration as the leader of the federal government’s efforts after the city filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2013. He also mentioned a government-funded network of manufacturing innovation institutes called Manufacturing USA.

But the question that remains is whether it’s possible to achieve these goals all at once. Already, some industry voices have reportedly been grumbling about the many restrictions on the money with others pointing out that the most successful projects historically have had limited instead of broader objectives.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo delivers remarks during a signing event for the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., August 9, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The new law has $39 billion earmarked for semiconductor manufacturers; the application process opened this past week. An additional $11 billion is set to go to companies as well as universities and others for chip research and design beginning later this year. The law also includes an investment tax credit of up to 25% towards a manufacturer’s capital expenditures.

‘We're already a hub’

Another point made by those who have a stake: these hubs already exist. Thus, they hope the money from Washington will primarily service as an amplifier—not only focus on new development.

For example: In a Yahoo Finance Live interview this week, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) noted “we're already a hub for semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, this is just going to expand dramatically because of this legislation.”

Intel (INTC) already has a strong presence in Kelly's state with 12,000 employees, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) recently announced plans there as well. For Kelly, a key point of the money is to help develop other companies around Intel and TSMC to help supply the giant fabrication plants to come with equipment, raw materials, and innovation in the years ahead.

U.S. President Joe Biden walks with CEO of TSMC C. C. Wei and Chairman of TSMC Mark Liu during a visit to TSMC AZ's first Fab (Semiconductor Fabrication Plant) in P1A (Phase 1A), in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

It's a similar situation about 2,500 miles away in upstate New York. IBM (IBM) and Micron (MU) are two of the big companies there. There has been years of semiconductor development in the region, which is also seen as a frontrunner for government money.

But again, an official there is quick to point out that this area is far from starting from scratch with government money likely to boost what is already there. “Today, I'm talking with you from Albany NanoTech,” said Mukesh Khare, an IBM vice president, in an interview this week. Khare was also recently named to an Industrial Advisory Committee that is advising the Commerce department on the deployment of the law.

The Albany Nanotech Complex is a public private partnership that has been growing for decades and was completed in 2015 as a host for a range of companies focused on semiconductor research at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

Albany’s existing cluster makes good business sense, said Khare, and currently “serves the needs of companies who are here but expanding — with investment from places like CHIPS Act, the state, as well as private companies — will really have a multiplication effect.”

The research facilties in New York could be paired with burgeoning manufacturing efforts. IBM recently announced a $20 billion manufacturing plan in nearby Poughkeepsie, N.Y. During an October visit, President Biden took credit for the expansion saying the CHIPs and Science act is “a law that’s going to build the future and a proud, proud legacy not only for IBM, but for the country.”

In addition, Micron recently announced plans to invest up to $100 billion over the coming decades in Syracuse N.Y.

U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a tour of IBM with CEO Arvind Krishna and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, not pictured, in Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S., October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
President Joe Biden participates in a tour of an IBM semiconductor facility with CEO Arvind Krishna in Poughkeepsie, New York in October. (REUTERS/Tom Brenner)

But Biden officials have repeatedly promised that no company or region is a shoo-in for the money. “The way that we've structured this and what we've been conveying to potential applicants throughout this process is that their expectation shouldn't be that we're giving a nod to any one area just simply because it already has a fab,” Deputy Secretary Graves said.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo added “I expect there will be many disappointed companies" and that her primary lens here "is the achievement of our national security goals.”

Aiming for ‘a win-win situation’

The clusters to come will need to strike a balance between the financial imperatives of the semi-conductor sector and the Biden administration's larger policy goals.

In addition to economic development, the Commerce Department has stressed that as a condition of applying for the money, companies will have to provide detailed financial information, not engage in stock buybacks with the money they get—and provide detailed workforce development plans down to the level of the childcare facilities they will provide.

In a recent Yahoo Finance Live interview, Secretary Raimondo defended the restrictions and said that her goal is not to impose overly burdensome requirements. “We want to work in partnership with these companies."

Advocates of the multi-pronged goals said that the incentives can be aligned so that it’s beneficial to both the private and public sectors. Speaking of the childcare provisions this week, Sen. Kelly argued “This is a win-win situation, it helps families in Arizona and in other states that are going to have these companies there, but at the same time it helps the employer.”

As for the timeline ahead, a Commerce official said the first awards will likely be for big fabrication plants - i.e., the anchors of the clusters to come. Deputy Secretary Graves said “we're hopeful that we'll be able to make our first awards by the end of the year, but it's going to depend on whether we get these strong, strategic-thinking applications.”

IBM’s Khare added his praise of the government’s rollout so far and notes that, of course, "we all want it to be much faster than where we are but, that said, it's a process and it needs to be fair and transparent and accountable so we are here to help.”

Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

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