The Chips Act: What It Will Mean to One Local Black-Owned Company
michiganchronicle.com
The Chips Act: What It Will Mean to One Local Black-Owned Company
Donald James
1 year ago
The signing of the CHIPS Act by President Biden on Aug 9 at the White House. Congresswoman Haley Stevens, a major champion for driving the Bill, is behind the president.
On Aug. 9, President Biden signed into law the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The bipartisan-passed Bill provides $52 billion to subsidize U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and billions in funding for emerging technology research and development. According to Biden, the Bill will strengthen the domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips and make America less dependent on overseas production of vital technical components.
In Michigan, the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act is music to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s ears, along with those of U.S. Senate and Congressional elected officials from the state, and statewide manufacturing stakeholders, who pushed for the passage of the Bill for 14-plus months.
“Team Michigan came together to deliver a historic win by voting to past the CHIPS and Science Act, a bipartisan bill making game-changing investments in Michigan’s workers, manufacturers, and consumers,” said Whitmer. “I look forward to utilizing it to its fullest potential so we can build on Michigan’s economic momentum, support tens of thousands of jobs, and lower cost for Michiganders. Together, we will tell the world that Michigan is the place to build the future.”
Semiconductor chips are critical components for many products used by everyday people and industries, including electronic devices and computers, home appliances, medical devices, automobile components, and national defense mechanisms. The world shortage of these CHIPS, primarily caused by the pandemic, supply chain entanglements, and a reduction in global workforces, has impacted almost 575,000 auto-related jobs in America, many in the state of Michigan.
For visionary and local entrepreneur Danny Wilkerson, the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act is a clear victory for America and a beacon of light and opportunity for Southeast Michigan’s manufacturing entities, including his company, Invictus Innovation EV Technology, to produce semiconductor chips.
“We are excited about the Bill being signed by President Biden,” said Wilkerson, senior managing partner of Invictus Innovation. “ In Phase 1, we expect to hire and train at least 300 workers and hope to run three shifts beginning in the spring of next year. These will be good-paying jobs with many more ancillary jobs needing to be filled as we implement semiconductor chips’ research, development, and manufacturing.”
Phase 1 of the company’s operation, said Wilkerson, will be at a 50,000-square-feet facility in Pontiac, Mich. Ultimately, the company will morph into Phase 2 and build a futuristic state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and campus on 200 acres either in Pontiac or another area in Southeast Michigan and will potentially hire thousands to research, develop, and manufacture semiconductor chips.
Wilkerson advocated relentlessly for the CHIPS Act to pass and was confident of its success through the Senate and Congress. Six weeks before Biden signed the Act into law, Wilkerson held a press conference at Invictus Innovation’s Pontiac site to unveil his organization’s vision and plan to meet the massive demands of manufacturing semiconductor chips. Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel, Pontiac Councilwoman Melanie Rutherford, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, and other elected and appointed officials attended the press conference.
Wilkerson announced that his company would not only manufacture semiconductor chips but had already formed a unique partnership with the University of Michigan, which included Dr. Yashi Yi, a professor at the University’s Dearborn campus. Yi has designed and created a comprehensive curriculum and was already teaching students the technology associated with semiconductor manufacturing.
Stevens also spoke at the June 27th press conference.
“I’ve been speaking to our Speaker of the House, our House leadership, and our President that we must pass the CHIPS Act,” the Congresswoman said. “It is a large, multibillion-dollar investment that will go to enterprises like Mr. Wilkerson’s to build semiconductor chips. That will give us certainty and give our supply chain certainty in industries like the automotive, medical, aerospace, and national defense. And when the Bill is passed, Black-owned and other minority-owned businesses will get access to the billions of dollars.”
Wilkerson’s vision for manufacturing semiconductor chips goes beyond only hiring hourly workers for good-paying jobs in Metro Detroit. In partnership with Dr. Yi and the University of Michigan, Wilkerson, who is Black, plans to provide educational and training platforms for the nation’s 107 Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
“It will be a great opportunity for many young African Americans to enter this space to manufacture semiconductor chips,” Wilkerson said. “These young people at HBCUs, once they have gone through the curriculum and educational cycles designed by Dr. Yi, in collaboration with Invictus and the University of Michigan, will have the knowhow to work in high executive positions for the globe’s biggest semiconductor companies like Intel, Samsung, and Texas Instruments. And the HBCUs students with entrepreneurial passion and drive can one day startup their own semiconductor chips manufacturing facilities.”
While Wilkerson’s company will operate Phase 1 in Pontiac, about 30 miles from Detroit, it is expected to add many Detroiters to its workforce.
“I definitely want to make sure that Detroiters are included in our workforce in this vital work that we will be doing,” said Wilkerson, who grew up in Highland Park and Detroit. “The city is not that far from Pontiac and is easy to get to. I’m just excited that there will be opportunities to put people to work making high wages.”
