Joe Biden Administration to Provide $285 Million for a First-of-Its-Kind 'Digital Twin' Chip Research Institute

By Jace Dela Cruz

May 07, 2024 03:07 AM EDT

The administration of President Joe Biden has allocated some $285 million in funding from the CHIPS Act to pioneer a digital twin technology institute specifically for semiconductors.

LITHUANIA-US-DIPLOMACY — US President Joe Biden gestures as he delivers a speech on NATO at the Vilnius University in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023, after the end of the NATO Summit. US President Joe Biden travelled to Britain on July 9, 2023, to a NATO summit in Lithuania and will end the trip to Europe on July 13, 2023 in Finland.
(Photo : ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Digital Twins for the Semiconductor Industry

Digital twins are virtual models for examining and optimizing physical items and systems, which enable industries like automotive manufacturing to experiment with new processes without compromising production.

The Biden administration announced that it would accept applications for this funding, which will cover developing and researching digital twins in semiconductors, establishing physical and digital facilities, operating a new CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute, and other related activities.

The Biden administration has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seeking proposals to establish and operate a new CHIPS Manufacturing USA institute for digital twins or virtual models of physical semiconductor chips to boost US development and manufacturing.

New CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute of the Joe Biden Administration

The new CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute aims to address critical challenges in the semiconductor industry by leveraging integrated physical and digital assets.

"Digital twin technology can help to spark innovation in research, development, and manufacturing of semiconductors across the country - but only if we invest in America's understanding and ability of this new technology," Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a press statement.

"This new Manufacturing USA institute will not only help to make America a leader in developing this new technology for the semiconductor industry, it will also help train the next generation of American workers and researchers to use digital twins for future advances in R&D and production of chips," she added.

The CHIPS for America Program, which focuses on developing, validating, and utilizing digital twins in semiconductor manufacturing processes, will host a hybrid meeting next Thursday for potential applications for the funding.