Biden-Harris Administration Awards SRC $285M for New CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute for Digital Twins

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that CHIPS for America awarded the Semiconductor Research Corporation Manufacturing Consortium Corporation (SRC) $285 million to establish and operate a CHIPS Manufacturing USA institute headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. This follows the previously announced intent to enter negotiations on November 19, 2024. With a combined total investment of over $1 billion, the new institute, known as SMART USA (Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins USA) will focus on efforts to more rapidly develop, validate, and use digital twins to improve domestic semiconductor design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test processes.

“Digital twin technology opens the door for unparalleled opportunities for manufacturers to collaborate with researchers to develop and produce the next frontier of technological advancements in the semiconductor industry,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Thanks to this CHIPS investment, SMART USA will bolster collaboration within the semiconductor ecosystem while expanding training opportunities for the industry’s growing workforce.”

Digital twins are virtual models that replicate physical objects, like chips or machinery. Engineers and researchers use these virtual models to design, develop, and test processes, or entire supply chains digitally before deploying them in real life. By developing new technologies virtually before physically building them, engineers and researchers can iterate on design changes faster and test them in a simulated environment. Digital twin-based research can also leverage emerging technology like artificial intelligence to optimize chip design, improve production efficiency, and lower costs by streamlining operations and reducing the need for costly adjustments.

“With investments like this one through the CHIPS and Science Act, we’re making good on President Biden’s promise to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States—and pursue the research and development needed to win the future,” said Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar.

SMART USA will convene stakeholders across the semiconductor design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test industry and within five years, aims to:

• Address shared challenges relevant to digital twins in a collaborative environment;
• Reduce U.S. chip development and manufacturing costs by more than 40% by improving capacity planning, production optimization, facility upgrades, and real-time process adjustments using digital twins;
• Reduce development cycle times by 35% for semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test and accelerate the development and adoption of relevant innovative technologies, including breakthrough tools, materials, and manufacturing processes;
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with semiconductor manufacturing by 30%; and
• Train and educate more than 110,000 workers and students on digital twin technology.

SMART USA and its planned members span more than 30 states, with more than 150 expected partner entities representing industry, academia, and the full spectrum of supply chain design and manufacturing. Collaborators also include ten national laboratories, five Manufacturing USA institutes, five economic development agencies, and four trade and union groups. The CHIPS Manufacturing USA institute will join an existing network of seventeen institutes designed to increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and promote a robust R&D infrastructure.

“We are thrilled to have finalized the SMART USA Institute award with the U.S. Department of Commerce. The awarding of the CHIPS Manufacturing Institute is a reminder of the power of collaboration, the importance of ambitious research and development, and the enduring impact from both education and disciplined imagination. The sky’s the limit when we work together,” remarked Todd Younkin, Executive Director of SMART USA.