U.S. Commerce Department Plans Up To $389M for Power Semiconductors Under CHIPS Act

CHIPS money for power chips

The U.S. Commerce Department said it plans to provide up to $389 million in research and development funding to four companies working on power semiconductors and critical materials under the CHIPS and Science Act.

Planned CHIPS funding pool3 of 7 outlets reported it · not in Business Wire and 3 more▾

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, “The Trump Administration is accelerating American semiconductor innovation to enhance our domestic energy and power resources,” as the awards were announced through letters of intent.

Helion was set to receive up to $175 million to develop high-voltage semiconductors and power modules for fusion generators, while Commonwealth Fusion Systems was set to receive up to $85 million for technologies used in plasma heating, fusion diagnostics and radiation-resistant electronics.

Commonwealth Fusion allocation3 of 7 outlets reported it · not in Business Wire and 3 more▾

Vertical Semiconductor was slated to receive up to $73 million to advance gallium nitride power semiconductors for advanced computing, including a demonstration project targeting a 2.5-megawatt data center rack.

Vertical Semiconductor allocation3 of 7 outlets reported it · not in Business Wire and 3 more▾

Sibelco was slated to receive up to $56 million to develop purification technologies for ultra-high-purity quartz used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Reporting for this sectionAnadolu Ajansı

Helion’s $175M letter of intent

Helion announced it signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce to receive up to $175 million in funding through the CHIPS Research and Development Office for R&D tied to next-generation semiconductor technologies for commercial fusion energy.

David Kirtley said, “Building fusion power plants at scale requires us to accelerate the development of technologies like semiconductors that are critical to making fusion possible,” and he added that the award combined with additional private investment would total $225 million.

The expected federal award would be accompanied by $50 million in additional private investment and the program would support semiconductor research, manufacturing, and advanced-packaging capabilities in Everett, Washington.

Helion currently loses about 5% to 10% of the electricity that flows through its devices, and David Kirtley told TechCrunch, “If we can cut that loss in half, that’s actually twice the power output of the fusion system.”

TechCrunch also said the three-year award was made by the Department of Commerce under the CHIPS Act and that Helion’s production line would be built in Washington State as the first U.S. line to make a class of semiconductor used beyond fusion power.

Reporting for this sectionBusiness WireTechCrunch

Equity stakes and what’s next

The awards would be distributed among four companies, with maximum amounts anticipated and not payouts already completed, and the stage would be letters of intent rather than finalized funding agreements. The U.S. plan described by DiarioBitcoin said the Department of Commerce would condition the funds on minority government stakes, specifying that the stakes would be non-controlling and without voting rights. Helion’s CHIPS deal would leave Commerce with a $175 million non-voting equity interest in Helion and Helion would also put $50 million of private investment toward the semiconductor effort.

The proposed funding would support four companies and the awards follow 19 semiconductor research and development grants issued in recent months under the broader federal program. The award will help Helion build automated semiconductor module, packaging, and testing capacity to supply the fusion machine that is currently under construction, while Kirtley acknowledged the R&D funded by the award won’t make its way into Orion in time for the launch.

Reporting for this sectionDiarioBitcoinTechCrunch