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Skywater’s Minnesota semiconductor fab was approved by the Department of Defense’s Trusted Foundry program. The company seeks the same for its Kissimmee site. PHOTO/SKYWATER
SkyWater Technology is seeking approval from the U.S. Defense Department to make Osceola County a “trusted foundry” site for military semiconductor production.
The $75 million technology fabrication facility is at the heart of operations at NeoCity, the county’s technology park where SkyWater recently took over for the University of Central Florida.
The company got its main semiconductor fab in Minnesota approved by the DOD’s Trusted Foundry program and is seeking the same for the site in Kissimmee.
The process involves “implem enting various measures of integrity, assurance, and access” required by Defense Microelectronics Activity, or DMEA.
SkyWater is working closely with BRIDG, the nonprofit company established by Osceola County and UCF, as part of NeoCity that has already scored about $30 million in DOD semiconductor contracts.
“SkyWater, being a public company, is a for-profit, and BRIDG is a non-profit, and we find that some customers have expressed a preferred engagement model with each type, and we both respect that,” said Brad Ferguson, Chief Government Affairs Officer for SkyWater’s Florida operation. “In combination with Osceola County, we find that this is a very powerful example of the benefits of a publicprivate partnership.”
The collaborative, public-private model is attractive to customers looking to produce technology through SkyWater or BRIDG, Ferguson said.
A government entity might find the nonprofit model more attractive, while commercial companies might find SkyWater most appealing because it’s more competitive in terms of pricing, he said.
The DOD is seeking more domestically-produced semiconductors to increase security in everything from weapons systems to cell phones. Couple that with a backlog in the Asian-based semiconductor supply chain because of the pandemic, and it positions both SkyWater and BRIDG for growth.
With growing U.S. security concerns about microtechnology produced in China and Russia, there’s new demand for semiconductors and other essential components of modern technology made in the U.S.
The CHIPS Act for America will provide $52 billion worth of tax credits over 10 years for companies that manufacture semiconductors in the U.S. and for investments in the facilities where they’re made, including the Osceola fab.
The county built the $75 million semiconductor fab to attract companies like SkyWater by saving them the cost of building it themselves. The facility’s uber-sterile “clean room” is one of the largest in Florida and critical to semiconductor manufacturing.
“We’re lucky to be able to step into this facility,” Ferguson said.
In return, SkyWater is bringing 220 jobs to Osceola over the next five years and already has 32 employees at the site.
The positions will include everything from engineers to operations and production techs, said Dale Miller, SkyWater’s Kissimmee site director.
The team on the ground is setting up initial operations and will begin hiring more staff once the fab goes into 24/7 operations, Miller said.
The fab opened in 2017 and has maintained several tenants including the Belgian tech company imec. In 2019, the Osceola County School District opened NeoCity Academy and BRIDG began winning defense contracts.
Some of the work is classified but others, like a health sensor that monitors glucose levels, alcohol content and blood pressure being developed by SkyWater’s client, Rockley Photonics, will be for public consumption, Ferguson said, noting revolutionizing technology and creating jobs is the goal.
“Our vision aligns directly with the vision of Osceola County to diversify its economy and create jobs,” he said.
