“Innovation Anywhere, Opportunities Everywhere”. Emerging regions of innovation in the United States

After a pause of multiple decades, the United States is once again engaged in large-scale federal investment programs with one primary goal in sight: increasing its technology production capacity. One approach in particular has been re-emerging: that of making targeted investment in specific regions of the United States.

This approach, referred to as place-based innovation, exists in multiple of the major funding packages passed over the past two years, including the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and in particular the CHIPS and Science Act. The aim of developing these regional innovation clusters, with the help of federal funding, is to increase self-sufficiency in manufacturing capacity and supply chains, strengthen national security, and give the USA a considerable head-start in the development of key technologies.

The CHIPS and Science Act (2022) is the driving force behind the regional innovation targets of the United States. It is a major piece of legislation that contains ambitious measures to accelerate domestic production of cutting-edge technologies. The CHIPS and Science Act sets free $54.2 billion in funding with a focus on research and development of semi-conductor products. This sector was losing steam in the face of international competition – in particular from Asia, since Taiwan and South Korea are currently the primary manufacturers of these products. China has also been seeking to increase its production capacities in order to become a major player in the market.

Two years after it entered into effect, and despite the fact that the funding granted has been below the levels expected, the major U.S. research institutions the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have already received funding and begun investing in R&D. Aside from the question of funding, the development of a competent workforce to support the ambitious industrial expansion project of the CHIPS & Science Act remains a major challenge. The importance of apprenticeship programs, based at technical training institutes (career and technical colleges), is regularly raised in hearings.

The regional Tech Hubs – innovation clusters with great potential

Thanks to federal funds allocated for the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, the Economic Development Administration was able to launch its new Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) grant program. In October 2023, President Biden announced the designation of 31 Tech Hubs from among 379 candidates from all across the United States. These hubs represent new focal points for the place-based innovation approach to bolster regional clusters that have high potential but are less frequently cited in the technology landscape. In this sense, the 31 designated technology hubs stand out from the traditional innovation areas on the East and West Coasts, such as the Bay Area, Boston, New York, and Seattle..

The Tech Hubs aim to expand innovation geographically in the United States using unique features of each of the selected regions, such as well-established business hubs, university towns, and cutting-edge industry. For example, the cluster around Akron, Ohio, nicknamed the “rubber capital of the world,” received a grant to develop and produce new-generation polymers. Only 2 among the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the United States were grant recipients: Denver and Miami. According to the Economic Development Administration, the funding for the 10 other Tech Hubs will go to rural and smaller-scale communities. Implementing the program within the regions will lead above all to the development of infrastructure and the acceleration of production and commercialization of key technologies. With regard to research and development, the NSF will take the lead on developing American ambitions.

New organization at the NSF: Technology, Innovation and Partnerships

In 2022, Sethuraman Panchanathan, the director of the NSF, announced the creation of the Technology, Innovation and Partnership (TIP) directorate for accelerating applied research. The aim of this organization is to transfer discoveries in the lab to the commercial market, all while likewise encouraging the creation of regional innovation hubs throughout the country. “Innovation Anywhere, Opportunities Everywhere” is the motto. The new TIP directorate of the NSF is thus a crucial step in accelerating the development of new technologies within the framework of the CHIPS and Science Act.

With the aim of promoting regional innovation ecosystems, one of TIP’s major initiatives is the Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program. This program is characterized by its emphasis on fast innovation and on collaboration among research institutions, universities, and other organizations within a single region. Like the Tech Hubs, this program intends to focus on innovation regions that were under-invested in for many years. The main difference is that the NSF Engines program focus on applied research rather than on production capacity.

 

Figure 1: Overview of NSF Engines Awards. Source: National Science Foundation NSF

Interest for Switzerland – innovation policies and matchmaking competencies

The Tech Hubs and Regional Engines programs, resulting from the CHIPS and Science Act, cover a major area of interest for Switzerland because they offer valuable insight, not just into high-priority investment areas but also into geographic areas that are forming themselves around these key technologies. With regard to innovation policy, it would be interesting for Switzerland to observe the results over the medium and long term of these federal efforts to implement a place-based innovation strategy.

It would also be of interest to Switzerland to follow how, within these ecosystems, the technology hubs that have been awarded grants organize themselves to profit from the funding: for instance, how they invest in infrastructure, encourage entrepreneurship, develop competencies, and involve both private and public partners. These U.S. orientations seem particularly interesting in the context of the future development of innovation policy in Switzerland. U.S. R&D investment priorities are also a valuable guide for how to continue to establish successful collaboration with U.S. partners, Switzerland’s primary scientific partner.

The regions identified as new U.S. innovation engines shed light on universities and research centers the United States is counting on to carry out its ambitious technological development goals. Here exists an interesting array of matchmaking and knowledge transfer opportunities for our research centers, technical training institutes, and universities that have world renown expertise in the relevant fields. The establishment of points of contact in Swiss clusters – the National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCR) of the Swiss National Science Foundation, for example – and regions identified as engines or tech hubs seem to becoming particularly pertinent for connecting our ecosystems in a strategic manner.

Despite the fact that the U.S. funding programs discussed above are exclusively designed to advance domestic technological development, collaboration by these various hubs of expertise with partners abroad is allowed and even encouraged. As compared to the USA, Switzerland is distinguished by the fact that it can propose specific solutions of high quality: algorithms, high-precision components and instruments, which enable new advances in partner countries. It seems like an opportune moment for Switzerland to establish peer-to-peer connections starting now and to profile its expertise in these new regions of U.S. innovation.

 

 

NSF Regional Engines Awardees

Advanced Agriculture
North Dakota State University: Northern Plains AgTech Engine for Food systems Adapted for Resiliency and Maximized Security (FARMS)

Aerospace
The University of Texas at El Paso: Paso del Norte Innovation for Defense and Aerospace (IDEA) Engine

Blue Economy/Circular Economy
Current Innovation, NFP Chicago: Great Lakes ReNEW
The Industrial Commons, North Carolina: Creating a Modern, Green and Inclusive Textile Sector

Climate and Resilience
Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative Inc.: Scaling the Regional, Technology-Driven, Innovation Ecosystem in Climate Solutions and Community Resiliency in Colorado and Wyoming

Biotechnology
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina: Central Carolina Engine for Innovation in Regenerative Medicine Clinical Manufacturing

Microelectronics and Semiconductors
ICAMR Inc., Florida: NSF Engines: NeoCity Semiconductor Technology Accelerator

Sustainable Energy
Binghamton University, New York: New Energy New York Storage Engine (NENY-SE)
Louisiana State University: NSF Engines: Engine for Louisiana Innovation and Transition of Energy (ELITE) University

Water Sustainability
Arizona State University: Sustainability Innovation Engine for the Southwest (SIES)

 

12 Tech Hubs Inaugural Awardees

Elevate Quantum Tech Hub (Colorado, New Mexico)
Lead Agency: Elevate Quantum
Technology Focus: quantum information technology

Headwaters Hub (Montana)
Lead Agency: Accelerate Montana
Technology Focus: smart photonic sensor systems

Heartland BioWorks (Indiana)
Lead Agency: Applied Research Institute
Technology Focus: biomanufacturing

iFAB Tech Hub(Illinois)
Lead Agency: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Technology Focus: precision fermentation and biomanufacturing

Nevada Tech Hub(Nevada)
Lead Agency: University of Nevada, Reno
Technology Focus: lithium batteries and electric vehicle materials

NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub (New York)
Lead Agency: CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity
Technology Focus: semiconductor manufacturing

ReGen Valley Tech Hub(New Hampshire)
Lead Agency: Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute
Technology Area: biofabrication

SC Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy(South Carolina, Georgia)
Lead Agency: South Carolina Department of Commerce
Technology Focus: clean energy supply chain

South Florida ClimateReady Tech Hub (Florida)
Lead Agency: Miami Dade County Innovation and Economic Development Office
Technology Focus: sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure

Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub(Ohio)
Lead Agency: Greater Akron Chamber
Technology Focus: sustainable polymers

Tulsa Hub for Equitable & Trustworthy Autonomy (Oklahoma)
Lead Agency: Tulsa Innovation Labs
Technology Focus: secure autonomous systems

Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub (Wisconsin)
Lead Agency: BioForward Wisconsin
Technology Focus: personalized medicine