Great American Tech Hubs Tour 2024
In October 2023, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration designated 31 Tech Hubs. This summer, we hit the road to visit the Tech Hubs to see their work on the ground. Check back here for highlights of our trips and follow #EDATechHubs on social media.
July 2, 2024
Secretary Gina Raimondo visited the Nevada Tech Hub to announce that 12 Tech Hubs would be awarded a total of $504 million to implement projects, as part of Phase 2 of the Tech Hubs Program. The Nevada Tech Hub received $21 million to help them grow as a national leader in the lithium supply chain and create thousands of jobs. As part of her visit, Secretary Raimondo visited Dragonfly Energy where she toured the facility and got an in-depth look at the company’s manufacturing process.
Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves visited ReGen Valley Tech Hub in Manchester, New Hampshire, to highlight the consortium’s $44 million Tech Hubs award to transform Southern New Hampshire into a global epicenter for the production and distribution of regenerative cells, tissues and organs. Graves spoke at 150 Dow Street, a building that is being retrofitted for biofabrication labs and production space, and participated in a trolley tour.
Assistant Secretary Alejandra Y. Castillo visited the South Florida ClimateReady Tech Hub to highlight the consortium’s $19 million Tech Hubs award to implement projects that will advance the region’s global leadership in sustainable and resilient infrastructure (SRI) solutions for the global climate crisis. The Assistant Secretary Castillo visited Florida International University, a consortium member that will support the workforce development programs and other Tech Hub projects.
Local Media Coverage: Nevada Independent, New Hampshire Business Review, Miami Herald
July 18, 2024
Assistant Secretary Alejandra Y. Castillo visited the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub in Washington. Led by American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center (AAMMC), aims to develop new domestic supply chains to meet the immediate demand for high-rate production of advanced composite aerostructures in defense and commercial markets.
The Assistant Secretary toured the University of Washington Advanced Composites Center in Seattle. She participated in roundtable discussions with stakeholders and visited consortium member facilities.
Local Media Coverage: KHQ-TV
July 25, 2024
Assistant Secretary Alejandra Y. Castillo joined Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and other leaders to announce the location of the Illinois Quantum & Mircoelectronics Park on Chicago’s South Side. The park’s first tenant will be PsiQuantum, which plans to build the world’s first commercially viable quantum computing.
The announcement shows continued support for The Bloch Tech Hub in Chicago, which aims to transform the Chicago area from a global leader in quantum research to a global leader in producing quantum products and services solve global challenges with new ways or processing, measuring, and transmitting information.
Local Media Coverage: Chicago Sun-Times
July 26, 2024
Deputy Assistant Secretary Cristina Killingsworth visited Oregon’s two Tech Hubs – Corvallis Microfluids Tech Hub and Pacific Northwest Mass Timber Tech Hub.
July 29, 2024
Tech Hubs Director Eric Smith visited the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub, which serves both Oklahoma and Texas, with stops at Austin College, Global Wafers, Grayson College and Southern Methodist University. Click here for more photos of the visit.
August 5, 2024
Deputy Assistant Secretary Cristina Killingsworth visited the Vermont Gallium Nitride Tech Hub in Burlington, Vermont, with a stop at the University of Vermont.
August 7, 2024
Tech Hubs Director Eric Smith visited Rolla and Fredericktown, Missouri, to meet with the Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy (CM2AE) Tech Hub with stops at U.S. Strategic Metals, Critical Mineral Recovery and Missouri S&T.
August 8, 2024
Deputy Assistant Secretary Cristina Killingsworth visited Rhode Island and Massachusetts to visit with the Ocean Tech Hub, which serves both states. The tour included stops at the Tech Hubs’ key industry partners, including Jaia Robotics, MassRobotics and New Bedford Research & Robotics.
WATCH: Interview with Cristina Killingsworth during visit to Ocean Tech Hub
August 12, 2024
Deputy Assistant Secretary Cristina Killingsworth visited the Gulf Louisiana Offshore Wind Propeller Tech Hub in Louisiana.
August 27, 2024
Tech Hubs Director Eric Smith visited the Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Tech Hub (APM Tech Hub) in Virginia. The coalition, led by the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, seeks to re-shore safe and affordable medicines via innovative hybrid and continuous flow manufacturing technologies
August 28, 2024
Deputy Assistant Secretary Cristina Killingsworth visited Alabama to meet with the Birmingham Biotechnology Hub, a coalition led by the Southern Research Institute. The Tech Hub is an emerging global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-drive biotechnology that aims to be a global hub for drug, vaccine, and diagnostics development by applying AI-driven biotechnology to increase diverse representation in clinical genomic data and clinical trials.
In a separate visit on Aug. 28, Tech Hubs Director Eric Smith visited the Baltimore Tech Hub, led by the Greater Baltimore Committee, to learn more about the coalition’s strategy to deliver precise and predictive medicine that improve health outcomes and increase longevity with drugs, devices, and therapies that are closely tailored to each person’s unique genome, environment, and history by developing these products and services and getting them in the hands of doctors and patients.
Local Media Coverage: CBS Baltimore: Baltimore showcases its top tech programs
September 9, 2024
Tech Hubs Director Eric Smith visited Peoria, Illinois to meet with the iFAB Tech Hub, led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was joined by U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, IL-13. The Tech Hub, also known as the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Tech Hub, highlights the region’s role as an emerging global leader in advancing biomanufacturing.
Local Media Coverage: WCIA-TV: Federal officials visit U of I’s Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab
Next stops include…
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Missouri
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Colorado
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Puerto Rico
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Minnesota
Check back often for the latest updates.
Questions? Ideas? Share them with us at TechHubs@eda.gov