Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs)

EDA is no longer accepting Phase 1 applications. The deadline for Phase 1 applications was 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 15, 2023. Applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered

Questions about Tech Hubs? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions or email us at TechHubs@eda.gov.

EDA Tech Hubs Logo graphic

The Tech Hubs Program is an economic development initiative designed to drive regional technology- and innovation-centric growth by strengthening a region’s capacity to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy critical technologies. This program will invest directly in regions with the assets, resources, capacity, and potential to transform into globally competitive innovation centers in approximately 10 years while catalyzing the creation of good jobs for American workers at all skill levels, both equitably and inclusively. 

The Tech Hubs Program is an investment in our future.  This program will bring together a wide array of public, private, and academic partners into a collaborative consortium focused on regional economic development needs and unique growth opportunities. By growing these new centers of innovation throughout America, the Tech Hubs Program will help strengthen U.S. economic and national security. 

The Tech Hubs Program was enacted as part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (as the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program). The statute authorized $10 billion for the program over five years. As part of the FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress appropriated EDA $500 million to launch the program. 

The Tech Hubs Program seeks to ensure that the industries of the future—and their good jobs—start, grow, and remain in the United States. This program will invest in U.S. regions that are focused on technologies within or across the key technology focus areas outlined in the statute. 

Latest Funding Opportunity 

On May 12, 2023, EDA published the Tech Hubs Phase 1 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (PDF)—the first of two phases. Below is an overview, but please read the NOFO and Frequently Asked Questions for specific details. 

PHASE 1 (Deadline: August 15, 2023) 

EDA will designate at least 20 Tech Hubs across the country and will separately award approximately $15 million in strategy development grants to accelerate the development of future Tech Hubs. The Tech Hubs designation will be a widely recognized indicator of a region’s potential for rapid technology-led economic growth.  

PHASE 2 (EDA expects to release the Phase 2 NOFO in Fall 2023.) 

In Phase 2, EDA will make at least 5 implementation awards to designated EDA Tech Hubs. Only Tech Hubs that EDA designates during Phase 1 are eligible to apply for Phase 2. 

Who is eligible to apply? 

Only consortia are eligible. Each consortium has certain required and optional entity types to qualify. Regional consortia could include various combinations that include academia, private sector, government, federal labs, and unions, among others. (See the NOFO for specific requirements.) In Phase 2, only consortia that EDA designates in Phase 1 will be eligible to apply. 

EDA defines a Tech Hub’s geography as a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or a similar area (including Micropolitan Statistical Areas (μSAs) or tightly interconnected combinations of MSAs and/or μSAs) with a concentration of assets, capital, R&D, labor market, and infrastructure strongly relevant to the Hub’s selected core technology area, the Hub’s identified market opportunity, and its potential to become globally competitive in that given sector, industry, and/or area within a decade. Applicants should identify their chosen geography as part of their application. Consortia may include assets or members outside their chosen geography—e.g., in nonmetro rural areas or partnerships with geographically distant but tightly mission-aligned organizations—that support the consortium’s strategy and benefit the Tech Hub. If you have questions about whether you are an eligible entity, please contact TechHubs@eda.gov. 

Tech Hubs Phase 1 NOFO Launch Message

 

Resources