Dive Brief:
- Aerospace component maker Rocket Lab will receive up to $23.9 million in CHIPS and Science Acting funding, the Department of Commerce announced Tuesday.
- The funds will double solar cell production at subsidiary SolAero Technologies’ facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, within the next three years, creating over 100 jobs and adding approximately 25,000 square feet, Morgan Connaughton, VP, marketing and communications at Rocket Lab, said in an email to Manufacturing Dive.
- Rocket Lab will also receive $25.5 million in state incentives to assist with the Albuquerque facility upgrades, and claim up to 25% of the federal Investment Tax Credit, the company stated in a June 10 release. The total cost as well as Rocket Lab’s investment is “commercially sensitive,” Connaughton said.
Dive Insight:
Rocket Lab’s CHIPS award would help the military, NASA and the commercial space industry access specialty semiconductors for security purposes and space exploration, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in the release.
Solar cells convert light to electricity in space, powering spacecrafts and satellites like NASA’s Artemis lunar explorations and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, according to the release. Solar chips are also more resistant to extreme temperatures, various radiation levels and other physical stresses amid launches and deployment, according to aerospace marketplace firm Satsearch.
Rocket Lab is one of two U.S. companies that produces the radiation-resistant chip, according to the Commerce Department release. The other is Boeing’s subsidiary, Spectrolab, in Sylmar, California.
With the CHIPS and state incentives, Rocket Lab will be able to create a sturdy supply chain as well as address the growing security and commercial demand for its space-grade solar cells.
Rocket Lab is another manufacturer added to the growing list of chipmakers receiving CHIPS funds. In April, Micron Technology was the last company to receive $6.14 billion in CHIPS funds. The semiconductor company plans to use the funds to expand its facilities in New York and Iowa.
