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Saginaw County manufacturing project moves ahead with federal funds

By Kyle Kaminski

January 7, 2025

Federal funds will support a new polysilicon production facility in Saginaw County—creating over 1,000 jobs and boosting Michigan’s role as a “manufacturing powerhouse.”

MICHIGAN—A major investment in Michigan’s manufacturing future is moving forward.

The Biden-Harris administration this week announced that Hemlock Semiconductor, the country’s largest producer of semiconductor-grade polysilicon, will receive $325 million in federal funds from the CHIPS and Science Act to expand its operations in Saginaw County. 

It’s the first project in Michigan to receive funding through the legislation. And in addition to creating 1,000 temporary construction jobs and 180 new, full-time manufacturing jobs, the new facility is set to help ensure that the state of Michigan plays a key role in the high-stakes, global race to manufacture more advanced semiconductor chip technology in the United States.

“Nearly every single semiconductor made in America relies on the kind of advanced polysilicon that this investment will enable Hemlock to produce,” National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard said in a statement announcing the new funding agreement on Tuesday morning. “Today’s announcement not only secures this key material needed for a resilient domestic semiconductor supply chain, but it will also further bolster Michigan as a manufacturing powerhouse.”

The award follows a preliminary agreement with Hemlock that was announced in October.

The federal funds—which are set to be awarded in chunks over the next few years—will help support the construction of a new manufacturing facility in Hemlock, specifically for the production and purification of hyper-pure semiconductor-grade polysilicon in Thomas Township.

And if all goes as planned, construction crews will break ground on the project later this year and ramp up full-scale polysilicon production by the end of 2028 or early 2029, officials said.

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the new facility will ensure the US has a reliable, domestic supply of polysilicon, which is essential for semiconductor manufacturing, as well as help Michigan secure its spot in the global semiconductor manufacturing supply chain.

“Establishing a domestic source of these materials is important for development of leading-edge chip applications, which helps bolster our economic and national security,” Raimondo said in a statement. “Through targeted investments like this, the Biden-Harris Administration is driving technological innovation in industries of the future and creating jobs across the country.”

Hemlock Semiconductor is the only US-based manufacturer of hyper-pure polysilicon—which is the foundational material needed for microprocessors and artificial intelligence chips, as well memory and power devices, that essentially gives all chips their semiconducting properties.

Hemlock is also reportedly just one of just five companies in the world that’s producing polysilicon to the purity level needed to serve the state’s automotive manufacturing industry.

“This agreement is a key milestone in enhancing our manufacturing capabilities as we continue to serve the leading-edge semiconductor market with high quality and sustainably made polysilicon,” Hemlock Semiconductor CEO AB Ghosh said in a statement this week. “The new facility will play a crucial role in strengthening the semiconductor supply chain in the US.”

US Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet also billed the new project as a “game changer” for Mid-Michigan.

“We are making sure that Michigan will lead the world in manufacturing,” she said in a statement.

Since President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS Act into law in 2022, the federal legislation has generated more than $42 billion in proposed funding to help support dozens of new semiconductor and other electronics manufacturing projects across at least 21 states. 

And although the federal bill garnered immediate praise as a big boon for Michigan’s automotive manufacturing industry, this project marks the first time it has paid direct dividends in the state. 

The funding is also slated to include $5 million to support the development of Hemlock’s production and construction workforce—including through a new partnership with Delta College and Saginaw Career Complex that’s set to create local training and employment opportunities.

Salary estimates for the new jobs at the facility haven’t been released, but former US Rep. Dan Kildee previously said he expects them to be “really good paying jobs you can raise a family on.” Hemlock Semiconductor is also participating in a child care cost-sharing program where employees, employers, and the state of Michigan each pay one-third of eligible child care costs.

In a call with reporters last year, White House officials emphasized that the federal funds would be awarded over several years—which means that Republican lawmakers and President-elect Donald Trump’s administration could, in theory, still derail the project before it breaks ground.

READ MORE: Federal funds to spur major manufacturing project in Saginaw County

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Author

  • Kyle Kaminski

    Kyle Kaminski is an award-winning investigative journalist with more than a decade of experience covering news across Michigan. Prior to joining The ‘Gander, Kyle worked as the managing editor at City Pulse in Lansing and as a reporter for the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

CATEGORIES: MONEY AND JOBS

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