The Biden-Harris administration announced plans Tuesday to provide up to 750 million in direct funding to Wolfspeed, with the money supporting its new silicon carbide factory in North Carolina that makes the wafers used in advanced computer chips and its factory in Marcy, New York.
Wolfspeed's use of silicon carbide enables the computer chips used in electric vehicles and other advanced technologies to be more efficient. The North Carolina-based company's two projects are estimated to create 2,000 manufacturing jobs as part of a more than 6 billion expansion plan.
"Artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and clean energy are all technologies that will define the 21st century, and thanks to proposed investments in companies like Wolfspeed, the Biden-Harris administration is taking a meaningful step towards reigniting U.S. manufacturing of the chips that underpin these important technologies," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.
The new Wolfspeed facility in Siler City could be a critical symbol in this year's election , as it opened earlier this year in a swing state county that is undergoing rapid economic expansion in large part due to incentives provided by the Biden-Harris administration.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, is making the case to voters that the administration's mix of incentives are increasing factory work, while former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, says the threat of broad tariffs will cause overseas factories to relocate in the United States.
