The US Department of Commerce and Edwards Vacuum have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to US$18 million in proposed direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to support the construction of a greenfield state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Genesee County, New York.The facility, which Edwards Vacuum first announced in 2022, will produce dry vacuum pumps, which are needed for semiconductor production, and is estimated to create approximately 600 jobs.
This proposed investment in Edwards Vacuum will help ensure a reliable domestic supply of important equipment needed for semiconductor manufacturing. Currently, there is no domestic production of semiconductor-grade dry vacuum pumps. These pumps are essential for both advanced and legacy semiconductor fabrication: Installed beneath the fab, they maintain the chamber environment where wafers are processed by evacuating toxic fumes and chemicals.