By:  Benyamin Davidsons

New York State is partnering with tech giant IBM and semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology to invest $10 billion in a state-of-the-art chip research facility, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.

As reported by the NY Post, the planned facility, named the NanoFab Reflection, will span 50,000 square feet and be located at the University of Albany’s NanoTech Complex.  The project will be supervised by NY Creates, which is a nonprofit which boasts 2,700 industry experts and manages over $20 billion in total public and private investments.  The non-profit currently oversees The Albany NanoTech Complex.

The new planned facility, which is slated for completion in 2026, is expected to include some of the world’s most advanced chip-making equipment courtesy of ASML Holding, a Dutch company which sells machines each worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as per The Wall Street Journal. The new facility will become the first and only publicly owned High NA Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography Center in North America. After that coveted machinery is installed, the partners will use the facility to begin to work on manufacturing next-generation chips.  Other partners in the project include material-engineering company Applied Materials as well as electronics firm Tokyo Electron.

Per the Post, ASML’s advanced machines utilize lasers and drops of tin in a highly-complex process that uses silicon and ultraviolet light to turn semiconductor materials into chips, as per the company’s website.

NYS has made a $1 billion commitment to the project.  NYS’s investment will go towards the purchase of ASML equipment and construction of the building, per the Post.  The endeavor is part of President Joe Biden’s $53 billion Chips Act, initiated in early 2023 by the Commerce Department to compete with technological advances in China.  The goal in acquiring the advanced machines is to drastically cut America’s reliance on imported chips, while simultaneously boosting national security.  The facility planned in Albany can help NY’s bid to be selected as the designated research hub under the Chips Act.  The federal CHIPS and Science Act, which invests in research and development in semiconductor manufacturing, includes some $11 billion in funding for a National Semiconductor Technology Center designed to advance domestic chip research and development.

Gov. Hochul’s office predicts that the new facility’s opening will add roughly 700 new jobs and bring in over $9 billion in private investments.   The Albany NanoTech Complex is already a source of pride for NY. First built in the late ’90s as a single building spanning 70,000-square-feet, it has swiftly grown into a 1.65 million square-foot complex, and has already made notable strides in its chip research efforts.  NY also boasts several large semiconducter factories, including ones by semiconductor manufacturers: GlobalFoundries, Onsemi, and Wolfspeed.

“This $10 billion partnership to bring innovative chips research to the Capital Region should send a message to the entire industry: New York is open for business,” Governor Hochul said. “From our Green CHIPS legislation to Micron’s historic investment and the creation of GO-SEMI, we’re building the future of semiconductor research right here in New York. This industry is creating real opportunity in our state with major regional investments, countless new jobs, and bold commitments to workforce development and sustainability.”