EDA - Economic Development Administration
09/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/09/2024 11:14
Senior U.S. Department of Commerce Official Visits iFAB Tech Hub in Illinois
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Eric Smith, director of the Tech Hubs Programat the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA), visited the iFAB Tech Hubin Illinois. The Biden-Harris Administration, through the EDA, designated the iFAB Tech Hub, a coalition led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, as a Tech Hub in October 2023.
The iFAB Tech Hub, also known as the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Tech Hub, highlights the region's role as an emerging global leader in advancing biomanufacturing. While there, Eric and the Tech Hubs Program leadership worked with the Tech Hub to strengthen their strategy to scale up production and delivery of critical precision fermentation technologies that will advance biomanufacturing in Illinois and the Unted States.
The Tech Hubs Program is a flagship initiative aimed at advancing U.S. leadership in technologies and industries critical to national security. The designation of the iFAB Tech Hub is a strong endorsement of the region's plan to supercharge its critical technology ecosystem and become a global leader in biotechnology over the next decade, advancing U.S. national security and global competitiveness.
"iFAB Tech Hub embodies the spirit and potential of the Tech Hubs Program to take centers of excellence and make them world-class tech ecosystems through targeted investments," said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. "That's precisely why I've asked Eric Smith to travel to Illinois with a team to meet with leadership and provide technical assistance on their strategy. The Tech Hubs Program is crucial to ensuring tech industries vital to U.S. economic and national security start, stay, and grow in the U.S., and that's why I'm committed to future rounds of funding and working with lawmakers to support additional federal resources to support all of our designees."
The Tech Hubs Program, authorized for $10 billion in the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, is designed to increase the capacity and pace with which Americans make, deliver, and deploy innovative technologies, creating new, growing companies and new, good jobs.
Read more about the Tech Hubs program at TechHubs.gov.
About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.