The Vermont Gallium Nitride (V-GaN) Tech Hub, a consortium led by the University of Vermont (UVM) with GlobalFoundries and the State of Vermont, has been awarded $23.7 million in funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The award, the most significant research investment in UVM’s history, is intended to accelerate GaN semiconductor innovation, workforce development, and regional economic growth.
The Tech Hub will establish a technology ecosystem focused on high-power and high-frequency GaN semiconductor design and manufacturing. The initiative includes the development of advanced computing facilities, a dedicated test and characterization lab, and a statewide education and workforce pipeline. More than 500 new employees are expected to be trained through the Hub’s programs, and over 6,000 K–12 students are expected to engage in STEM pathways over the next five years.
“This $24M in federal funding for the Vermont Gallium Nitride Tech Hub solidifies UVM’s position as a national leader in research and workforce development within this critical technological field,” UVM interim president Patricia Prelock said. “We are profoundly grateful to our consortium partners—GlobalFoundries and the State of Vermont—and to our Congressional delegation for their collaboration and support in establishing the region and the state as a national hub for semiconductor innovation.”
The Tech Hub’s initiatives include a GaN Advanced Design Computing Center, a publicly accessible Test and Characterization Lab (TCL), and the V-GaN Training, Innovation, Design and Engineering (TIDES) program, which will be administered by UVM’s Professional and Continuing Education division. The programs are supported by industry partners including OnLogic, Cadence, Siemens, Keysight, Intel, and RTX.
“The global demand for GaN and related semiconductor solutions is rapidly increasing, and we are determined to meet that demand,” said UVM Vice President for Research and Economic Development Kirk Dombrowski. “GaN not only holds promise for a wide range of applications in the technology space, it also provides an opportunity for V-GaN Tech Hub members to make northern New England the global leader in that space. This work benefited from the participation of more than 30 UVM partners—including GlobalFoundries, OnLogic, Cadence, and the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies—and represents the next generation of UVM’s land grant mission.”
Twelve companies have already committed to accelerating product development through the V-GaN Tech Hub, which will offer grant support for underserved and underrepresented groups in the semiconductor sector.
“Vermont’s new Tech Hub will benefit generations of researchers, tech innovators, and manufacturing leaders, said Senator Peter Welch. “While serving on the Senate Commerce Committee, I advocated for the Administration to invest in the Vermont Gallium Nitride Tech Hub at the University of Vermont and am thrilled to see the Department of Commerce selected the Vermont GaN Tech Hub consortium for one of six competitive Tech Hub awards. With this new funding, we’ll enter 2025 celebrating jobs, innovation, and the advancement of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act’s mission of bolstering our nation’s supply chain and onshoring manufacturing, right here in Vermont.”
“I want to thank the U.S. Economic Development Administration for this investment in V-GaN and Vermont. Twenty-four million dollars is a tremendous endorsement of Vermont’s ability to maximize this cutting-edge technology,” said Vermont Commerce Secretary Lindsay Kurrle. “Thanks to the US EDA, the extraordinary leadership at the University of Vermont, and the expertise at GlobalFoundries, Vermont is now poised to be a world leader in GaN, fostering an ecosystem that features rapid development of chip design, prototyping, and testing that bolster our workforce, enrich our students, and attract talent from all over the world. The Agency of Commerce and Community Development is standing by to help V-GaN achieve its goals in any way we can. Gallium Nitride is the future of semiconductors and Vermont is ready, willing, and able to be at the forefront of this transition.”
“GlobalFoundries is excited that the V-GaN Tech Hub has received implementation funding from the U.S. government. Thanks to our Congressional Delegation along with the Department of Science, the CHIPS and Science Act is fostering innovation and investment and will be pivotal in bringing new essential chip technologies, like GaN on silicon, to market,” said Ken McAvey, Vice President and General Manager of GlobalFoundries Vermont. “We look forward to our continued work with UVM and our other partners in driving U.S. leadership in GaN and advancing high-volume manufacturing of this technology.”
“We have gotten to this point due to the efforts of dozens of collaborators that came together to create this proposal. In early 2023, leaders from GlobalFoundries, UVM and the state identified an opportunity for the region to benefit from the technological advancements taking place at the GlobalFoundries plant in Essex Junction,” said Doug Merrill, UVM’s Regional Innovation Officer. “Over the past 18 months leaders from technology firms, educational institutions, economic development organizations, and capital providers from around the state worked hard to create a plan to ensure that Northern New England will become a global center of excellence for high power and high frequency semiconductor development. National firms, including Cadence Design Systems, Keysight, Siemens, Intel, and RTX, have recognized this potential and signed on as well. I’m continually humbled by the hard work that our partners have contributed to this Hub and am incredibly grateful that the EDA has selected us for implementation funding. While our excitement about the potential benefits of this funding is tremendous, it is tempered by the responsibility of ensuring that we put this investment to good use and ensure that it creates good jobs and growing businesses across our region for years to come.”
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Source/Photo Credit: University of Vermont GaN Tech Hub
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