Micron, a semiconductor chip manufacturer, is expected to receive up to $275 million in federal funding to upgrade and expand its plant in Manassas, Virginia.
The project would create almost 950 construction jobs and over 400 manufacturing jobs, according to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner’s office, which announced the federal funding Tuesday morning.
“Making more of these chips in America will strengthen our national security and create jobs, which is why I pushed to pass this funding through Congress, why I am working with Micron and the Biden administration to secure this investment in Virginia,” Warner, a Democrat and chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a news release.
Warner went on to say he’s “going to be making the case to the incoming administration that we need to keep investing in domestic manufacturing of critical and emerging technologies like semiconductors.”
Semiconductor “chips” are essential components of consumer goods like cars, phones, washing machines, ATMs — nearly everything with an “on” switch — but only a small percentage of the chips are made in the United States.
Warner introduced the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors, or CHIPS, for America Act to restore semiconductor manufacturing back to American soil in 2020. Congress in 2022 passed into law the CHIPS and Science Act, which included billions in funding to implement the law he wrote to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
As a result, the Department of Commerce has signed a Preliminary Memorandum of Terms with Micron Technology for up to $275 million in proposed funding to expand and modernize its facility in Manassas.
Micron is the only U.S.-based memory chip manufacturer.
“The proposed project would onshore Micron’s 1-alpha technology to its Manassas facility, significantly increasing output of more efficient, more powerful chips,” the release states.
Micron’s Manassas facility is at 9600 Godwin Drive.
Overall, the federal government is investing $6.1 billion in Micron, according to a statement from Vice President Kamala Harris’ office. The additional money will be used to support construction of new plans in Clay, N.Y., and Boise, Idaho, where Micron is based.
The money is part of Micron’s $125 billion investment over the next few decades, creating at least 20,000 jobs by 2030, according to the White House. The investments will help the U.S. grow its share of advanced memory manufacturing from nearly 0% today to 10% over the next decade, the statement from Harris said.