(TNS) — Allentown-based California semiconductor company Infinera is negotiating to receive $93 million from the federal government to build facilities in Bethlehem and California.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, CHIPS Act funds will go toward a new Infinera “advanced packaging and test” semiconductor facility in Bethlehem and a semiconductor manufacturing facility in San Jose, California.
The Bethlehem plant is expected to bring up to 291 manufacturing jobs and 500 construction jobs to the region, and together with the new California facility, Infinera’s manufacturing capacity will increase by at least 10 times. Become. The exact size and terms of the award have not yet been finalized, as the exact timing of the project was not immediately made public and the award was announced through a “non-legally binding preliminary memorandum.”
“We appreciate the bipartisan efforts under CHIPS and the Science Act to expand semiconductor manufacturing and packaging in the United States and protect national and economic security,” Infinera CEO David Hurd said in a statement. “I am doing so,” he said. “The proposed CHIPS funding will improve the security of our supply chains and enable us to compete more effectively with our foreign adversaries.”
The CHIPS Act of 2022 allocated $50 billion to strengthen U.S. semiconductor chip manufacturing. President Joe Biden proposed the law in the face of a nationwide semiconductor chip shortage that lasted from 2020 to 2023. The United States relies primarily on semiconductors made in China, and supply chain disruptions caused the shortage.
Semiconductors are used in electrical circuits to conduct electricity and are important to most modern technology products.
“From artificial intelligence to electric vehicles to communications infrastructure, 21st century technologies all depend on optical semiconductors like Infinera’s,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement.
Infinera’s particular type of semiconductor, called an indium phosphide-based photonic integrated circuit, enables high-speed transfer of large amounts of data and is in increasing demand as artificial intelligence becomes more widespread, according to an Infinera news release. It is expected that this will happen. US Department of Commerce.
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing is important for both national security and the local economy.
“The fact that we have a preliminary agreement is a very positive development for both job creation and manufacturing investment opportunities in the Lehigh Valley,” Casey said in an interview with The Morning Call.
In a statement, U.S. Rep. Susan Wilde, D-7th District, also praised the investment. Both Casey and Wilde wrote letters to Raimondo, asking Infinella to accept the award.
“We are proud to have helped secure this funding for Infinera to support the national security and intelligence communities and strengthen the local economy and manufacturing ecosystem,” Wilde said.
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