Dive Brief:
- The Commerce Department agreed to offer Edwards Vacuum up to $18 million in proposed direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, the government announced Thursday.
- Edwards Vacuum will use the money to build its $319 million facility in Genesee County, New York, to produce dry vacuum pumps and create approximately 600 jobs.
- The investment aims to strengthen the U.S. supply chain for semiconductor manufacturing as the pumps are crucial for advanced and legacy fabs, the release stated.
Dive Insight:
Edwards Vacuum first announced the project in 2022 and began its first phase of construction in April. The 240,000 square-foot campus facility will be located in the Western New York Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park, according to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s press release.
The facility will include manufacturing, warehouse, and administration facilities, with a capacity to initially produce 10,000 dry pumps per year. The all-electric facility will also try to attain LEED certification, with a majority of the power generated by hydroelectricity, the release stated.
Dry vacuum pumps are installed beneath semiconductor fabs and maintain the chamber environment where wafers are processed by evacuating toxic fumes and chemicals.
The project aims to fill a gap in the semiconductor supply chain as there is no domestic production of semiconductor-grade dry vacuum pumps, the Commerce Department stated.
UK-based Edwards’ dry pumps are currently manufactured in Asia.
“By bringing manufacturing to New York, Edwards customers — including Micron and GlobalFoundries in New York, and Intel in Ohio — will experience shorter wait times, improved responsiveness and reduced CO2 emissions from an American-made product,” Hochul’s release stated. The company estimates that when phase one is operational, it will reduce CO2 emissions by 13,000 tons per year.
The company also has manufacturing facilities in Chandler, Arizona, and Haverhill, Massachusetts, according to a 2022 press release.
The project will work alongside the Upstate New York Investing in America Workforce Hub to prepare people for semiconductor supply chain jobs.
Edwards Vacuum is also partnering with Genesee Community College for workforce training and is a member of the NY SMART I-Corridor Consortium Tech Hub, which focuses on artificial intelligence computing.
Edwards Vacuum plans to claim up to 25% of capital expenditures through the Department of the Treasury’s Investment Tax Credit.
The Department of Commerce can still negotiate award terms after it conducts due diligence, the release stated.
