WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday it was providing $504 million in implementation grants to a dozen “technology hubs” in Ohio, Montana, Nevada and Florida, among other locations.
The money would support the development of quantum computing, biofabrication, lithium batteries, computer chips, personal medicine and other technologies.
The administration is trying to encourage more tecnologic innovation across the country, rather than allowing it to concentrate in a few metropolitan areas, such as San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and New York.
“The reality is that there are intelligent people, great entrepreneurs and cutting-edge research institutions across the country,” said the Secretary of Commerce. Gina Raimundo he said in a call in anticipation of the announcement. “We will be leaving too much potential at stake if we don’t give them the resources to compete and win in the technology sectors that will define the global economy of the 21st century.”
The money comes from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration. In October 2023, the President Joe Biden designated 31 technology centers. Raimondo said the government is pushing for more funding for the program so that all designated tech centers can get additional resources to compete.
Technology centers receiving funding include:
—$41 million for the Elevate Quantum Tech Hub in Colorado and New Mexico
—$41 million for Headwaters Hub in Montana
– $51 million for Heartland BioWorks in Indiana
—$51 million for the iFAB Tech Hub in Illinois
– $21 million for the Nevada Tech Hub
— $40 million for the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub in New York
– $44 million for ReGen Valley Tech Hub in New Hampshire
—$45 million for the SC Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy in South Carolina and Georgia
—$19 million for the South Florida ClimateReady Tech Hub
—$51 million for the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub in Ohio
—$51 million for the Tulsa Hub for Equitable & Trustworthy Autonomy in Oklahoma
—$51 million for the Wisconsin Biohealth Teach Hub.
