The White House announced Monday the designation of 31 technology hubs across the U.S. aimed at spurring innovation and job creation in clean energy, artificial intelligence, precision medicine, biotech and more. Three of the hubs are located in the Pacific Northwest:
- The American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center, located in Spokane, Wash., is a consortium led by Gonzaga University that will work to meet the growing demand for lightweight composite materials for the next generation of sustainable commercial and military aircraft.
- The Pacific Northwest Mass Timber Tech Hub, led by Oregon State University, will work to position mass timber design and manufacturing as a viable and sustainable construction alternative that can lower the construction industry’s carbon footprint and increase housing affordability.
- The Corvallis Microfluidics Tech Hub, also led by Oregon State University, aims to establish global leadership in the development, scaling, and commercialization of microfluidics technology for use in semiconductor and electronic cooling.
The hubs will span 32 states and Puerto Rico and are designed to bring together private industry, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, labor unions, Tribal communities and nonprofit organizations.
In addition to the 31 tech hubs, 18 “Strategy Development Grants” have been awarded to build economic development plans to compete for future rounds of the Tech Hub program. The Pacific Northwest Smart Energy Strategy Development Consortium, led by Portland State University, is among this group.
The hubs program was authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed by President Biden in August 2022.
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