Awards Made in First Round of Microelectronics Commons Call for Projects, Totaling Nearly $269M

September 17, 2024 – The White House announced that the DoD, through the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), has awarded the first round of technical projects through Microelectronics Commons. A total of 33 projects have been awarded across the eight Hubs, including investments in a cross-hub-led Electronic Design Automation (EDA) solution that provides democratized access to a number of design tools including Cadence, Synopsys, Siemens, Keysight, and Ansys tools supported by Nimbus and Microsoft cloud with other tools identified at a project level, putting the awarded total at nearly $269 million. This marks the first time that over 30 Lab to Fab prototype projects have been awarded simultaneously through the Strategic and Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) Other Transaction Authority (OTA).

The eight Microelectronics Commons Hubs, which were awarded one year ago under the CHIPS and Science Act, will lead these efforts in collaboration with their awarded Hub members.

“The first round of technical project awards under the Microelectronics Commons marks a significant milestone in DoD’s implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act. We look forward to expediting Lab-to-Fab prototyping of leading-edge microelectronics hardware in the coming months and years, as these efforts move us towards domestic prototyping capabilities in the U.S.” Dr. Dev Shenoy, Principal Director for Microelectronics, OUSD (R&E)/ASD(CT).

“It’s an exciting time for Microelectronics Commons with the first round of official awards made to the eight Hubs. The 33 project awards respond to a wide range of critical DoD technical areas, and each Hub is specifically equipped to respond to that call. We are confident that the Hubs will hit the ground running and look forward to their progress.” Dr. Angie Lewis, NSWC Crane Technical Director.

“It’s great to see the progress with Commons as it relates to these 33 official awards just a few short weeks before the second annual meeting coming up in October. The awards mark another significant milestone in the Commons mission to onshore domestic production capabilities, and we look forward to partnering with the eight regional Hubs in these efforts.” Dr. Tim Morgan, Microelectronics Commons Technical Director.

The projects awarded will support prototype projects across six technical areas that are critical to the DoD mission. Those areas are Secure Edge/Internet of Things Computing (4 awards), 5G/6G Technology (5 awards), Artificial Intelligence Hardware (7 awards), Quantum Technology (4 awards), Electromagnetic Warfare (6 awards), and Commercial Leap Ahead (7 awards).

“It’s energizing to see the execution of CHIPS and Science Act dollars establishing the first set of projects that will demonstrate the Microelectronics Commons Hubs’ lab-to-fab prototyping capabilities and infrastructure investments,” says Stephanie Lin, Vice President at NSTXL for Microelectronics Commons.

Microelectronics Commons has opened registration for their second Annual Meeting which will be held in conjunction with the NSTC Symposium, where government, industry, and academia will explore one year of achievements and discuss the path forward. Registration closes on October 15 at 6:00 PM ET.

About Microelectronics Commons

The Microelectronics Commons program established eight innovation Hubs in 2023 after Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen American manufacturing, supply chains, and national security. By investing in this network of 8 regional prototyping Hubs with a focus in 6 main technical areas – 5G/6G, AI Hardware, Commercial Leap-Ahead, Electromagnetic Warfare, Secure Edge/IoT Computing and Quantum Technology – the United States is safeguarding our critical microelectronics supply chain. The Microelectronics Commons was awarded through the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S²MARTS) OTA, established by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division and managed by NSTXL, which is the premier rapid OT contracting vehicle for the Department of Defense (DoD) in trusted microelectronics, strategic & spectrum mission, and other critical mission areas.

About S²MARTS

The Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S²MARTS), managed by NSTXL, is the premier rapid OT contracting vehicle for the Department of Defense (DoD) in trusted microelectronics, strategic & spectrum mission, and other critical mission areas. The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division created S²MARTS to grow and engage an elite network of innovators, shorten the path to defense prototype development, and advance national security efforts.