Chip Investments: JVIC awaits more funding for semiconductor initiative

After awarding more than $9 million in grants to companies for semiconductor investments over the past two years, officials with the Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center at Missouri State University are anticipating additional state funds will be available for the initiative this summer.

Allen Kunkel, associate vice president for economic development and director of JVIC, said roughly $5.4 million was awarded to the Missouri Department of Economic Development as part of the fiscal 2026 budget. Gov. Mike Kehoe still needs to sign the roughly $53 billion budget by the end of the month. If he approves the funding for the DED, Kunkel said he expects the department will distribute the funds to JVIC this summer.

If approved, it would be the third funding round for the semiconductor initiative at JVIC. The organization in November opened its second funding round, utilizing $5.4 million from the DED as appropriated by the Missouri General Assembly.

“We expect that will go through and we’ll start this again. But as we have to do things in the fiscal year, it probably will follow a very similar process,” he said. “It took the state a while to get the contracts out last year. Hopefully, we can start that process earlier than the end of the year.”

The JVIC Advanced Manufacturing Node at MSU approved grants in February of $1 million apiece for Rolla-based Brewer Science Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts-based GVD Corp. and St. Peters-based MEMC LLC, as well as $925,000 for Springfield-based SRC Technologies Group Inc., Kunkel said, adding there were 16 applicants. JVIC in 2022 was approved by NextFlex, a member of Manufacturing USA Innovation Institutes, as the Missouri node of a program designed to increase the volume, pace and coordination of the development of flexible hybrid electronics and other semiconductor technologies.

The project investments follow JVIC’s selection in 2023 for a grant from the Missouri Technology Corp., which invested in seven projects among five companies. Each project received between $740,000 and $750,000 to buy equipment to increase capacity or improve technologies in the semiconductor field, while others developed new technologies to impact the industry. In that first round of funding, Brewer Science, GVD Corp., MEMC, SI2 Technologies and Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co. were selected for a combined $5.2 million, according to past reporting. Brewer Science is an on-site tenant at JVIC and corporate partner, and GVD and SI2 also are corporate partners.

Regarding the second funding round, Kunkel said $4 million was budgeted for subawards, with $1.4 million approved by the DED to support investments in semiconductor capacity at JVIC.

“This last round, we did keep some because we realized we had to invest in ourselves in our operations and equipment here,” he said, noting one of the expenditures is a thermal analyzer, which monitors materials as they change with temperature. “Equipment’s very expensive in the semiconductor world.”

The state’s funding toward semiconductors work joins over $540 billion nationally in private investments since 2020, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. The organization reports companies in the semiconductor space have announced over 100 projects in 28 states over the past five years.

Semiconductors are a component of electronic devices, enabling advances in clean energy, communications, computing, health care, military systems and transportation, among other applications, according to the SIA.

Company interest
Semiconductor work is hardly a new investment for Brewer Science. The company, which produces materials for smartphones, tablet computers and other microelectronic devices, has worked with the technology since its inception in 1981. Kim Yess, corporate technical fellow at Brewer Science, said the company employs around 50 of its nearly 500 employees companywide in Springfield.

“The grant award received this year for hybrid bonding materials development will enable Brewer Science to diversify and create materials and solutions for various applications within the semiconductor industry,” Yess said via email. “None of this money will be utilized for infrastructure or facilities but will be dedicated to research and manufacturing optimization of new technologies.”

Yess said the grant, along with other funding awards the company has received toward its work on corporate initiatives, helps expedite the projects. However, she said the funding only subsidizes Brewer Science’s efforts.

“The programs we identify and prioritize would be supported without funding if it were not available,” she said.

With the previous funding round, Brewer Science added a cleanroom facility for developing semiconductor materials, acquired new tools and invested in workforce initiatives.

At SRC Technologies Group Inc., a subsidiary of Springfield-based SRC Holdings Corp., the nearly $1 million in funding is being used to develop an advanced semiconductor harvesting system, said Chris Kleinfeld, general manager. When it received the award, the company was SRC Electrical, but changed its name in March, according to past reporting. The name change reflects growth in advanced technology solutions, officials say.

“Imagine a robotic work cell, guided by vision systems and AI-powered decision-making, that disassembles end-of-life electronic devices to recover used semiconductors,” Kleinfeld said via email, regarding the company’s semiconductor project investment. “These components are then reconditioned and integrated into new products. The project is progressing steadily and represents a major step forward in our efforts to support circular manufacturing.”

Kleinfeld said end-of-life chip recovery is a proven solution for both service parts and supporting new production. The company has seen growing demand in the area from its customer base, he said, adding it makes even more sense to invest in domestic solutions amid increased trade uncertainties.

“Receiving the award was a strong validation that our organization is heading in the right direction,” he said. “At SRC Technologies Group, making remanufacturing more attractive through the introduction of technology-driven products and processes is central to our strategy.”

Kunkel said SRC is a good example of a company that has traditionally not been involved in semiconductor investments but is pursuing a new opportunity as the CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law in August 2022. The federal program was enacted to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry.

SRC Technologies Group is interested in future work with semiconductors, Kleinfeld said, noting the JVIC initiative aligns perfectly with its strategic direction. SRC began electronics manufacturing over a decade ago as part of a strategic shift away from commodity-based products.

“JVIC has been a tremendous partner and a valuable asset to our community,” he said. “If future grant opportunities align with our strategy and we’re confident we can be responsible stewards of the funds, we will certainly pursue additional collaborations with JVIC to further expand our impact.”