The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that ten of its National Laboratories will collaborate on the establishment of a new semiconductor manufacturing institute.
Dubbed the Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins USA (SMART USA) Institute, the DOE said the facility will advance domestic semiconductor production through digital twin technology.
First announced in November 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration pledged $285 million to support the SMART USA. The institute joins an existing network of 17 facilities working to increase semiconductor manufacturing competitiveness in the US.
In a statement from November, the Department of Commerce said SMART USA aims to convene stakeholders across the semiconductor design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test industry; reduce US chip development and manufacturing costs by more than 35 percent; reduce development cycle times by 30 percent for semiconductor manufacturing; reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with semiconductor manufacturing by 25 percent; and train more than 100,000 workers on digital twin technology.
The laboratories involved in the project are Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Idaho National Laboratory will function as the project’s chief digital officer.
“The Department of Energy and our National Labs have been at the forefront of artificial intelligence research and we’re expanding that reach to advance domestic manufacturing capacity and national security,” said outgoing US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer M. Granholm.
“The SMART USA Institute supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to promote collaboration across the government and broader scientific community to speed up the development and adoption of advanced semiconductor technologies, shorten the time and cost of chip production, and provide training opportunities for the next generation of semiconductor workers.”