Micron Technology, the only U.S.-based maker of memory chips, is one step closer to receiving billions of dollars from the federal government to aid in the construction of new chip facilities and help fund the expansion of an existing plant.
The U.S. Department of Commerce said it finalized a $6.1 billion award to support construction of new Micron memory chip plants in Clay, New York, near Syracuse, and in Boise, Idaho. The agency also said it agreed to preliminary terms on a nonbinding agreement with Boise, Idaho-based company Micron Technology for it to receive up to $275 million to expand and modernize its Manassas, Virginia, facility at 9600 Godwin Drive.
Efforts to bolster domestic supply of memory chips, used for national defense, automobiles and national security, come as the United States aims to reduce its reliance on foreign governments for the critical technology. The Biden administration is reportedly working to deliver the money before President-elect Donald Trump, who has criticized the funding agreement, takes office next month. The incoming Trump administration transition team did not immediately respond to an email request seeking a comment.
“These investments will help the U.S. grow its share of advanced memory manufacturing from nearly 0% today to 10% over the next decade,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement.
The Biden administration announced the preliminary agreement in April, detailing plans for two facilities in New York and one in Idaho co-located with the company’s existing research and development facility. Micron plans to invest roughly $100 billion in New York and another $25 billion in Idaho over the next two decades, creating at least 20,000 jobs.
CoStar News reported in November that construction is slated to start in November 2025 at the 1,400-acre site in New York.
The project in Manassas could create more than 400 manufacturing jobs, according to Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.
Opposition from Trump
The funding would be made available through the CHIPS and Science Act, legislation that was signed into law in 2022. It builds off other semiconductor-related grants the department committed to make to Intel and a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. When the TSMC plant begins operation, it will be the "first time in decades an America manufacturing plant will be producing the leading-edge chips used in our most advanced technologies," President Joe Biden said last month.
Trump at one point was critical of aspects of the CHIPS Act. Rather than putting up “billions of dollars for rich companies," steep tariffs should be placed on chips coming in from overseas, he said on a podcast in October.
“It is impossible to know at this point how serious Trump’s opposition will be when he takes over,” Claude Barfield, a senior fellow at American Enterprise Institute, wrote in a commentary. “In any case, his potential scrapping of the CHIPS semiconductor [fabrication plant] funding is both dangerous and delusional,” he continued.
Warner said that he would be making the case to the incoming administration for the need to keep investing in domestic manufacturing of semiconductors.
A Micron spokesperson did not comment in addition to Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra's statement in the Commerce Department announcement. In that, Mehrotra said the grant agreement “will help drive economic growth and ensure that the U.S. remains at the forefront of technological advancements.”
Global semiconductor sales hit $56.9 billion during October, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. In 2025, global sales are projected to reach $697.2 billion, it added. Micron is expected to provide an update on the funding situation during its quarterly earnings conference call scheduled for Dec. 18.