Petersburg Designated as Tech Hub
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced the selection of 31 regions across the country as Tech Hubs, marking the first phase of the new Tech Hubs program. This initiative is designed to bolster regional innovation and job creation while enhancing the capacity for manufacturing, commercialization, and deployment of technology that will boost American competitiveness.
These Tech Hubs aim to stimulate investment in technologies pivotal to economic growth, national security, and job creation. The program directly invests in high-potential U.S. regions with the goal of transforming them into globally competitive innovation centers.
Petersburg, a member of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine and home to a growing Pharmaceutical Campus that includes AMPAC Fine Chemicals, CivicaRx, and Phlow, is part of the region that will benefit from this initiative.
"Being recognized as a Tech Hub is a significant milestone for Petersburg,” said Mayor Sam Parham. “This recognition, coupled with the potential for future grant funding, sets the stage for an expansion of the advanced manufacturing pharmaceutical industry in our city. The growth of this industry will not only create more employment opportunities for our residents but also generate additional tax revenue, thereby significantly boosting our local economy." Mayor Parham is a board member of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine.
“Designation as an EDA Tech Hub is a transformative win – one that will change the landscape of opportunity for the communities we serve by developing and manufacturing affordable, accessible medicines in our Region,” said Joy Polefrone, PhD, Executive Director of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine. “This win reinforces the audacious vision of the Alliance members to become the global hub to transform the manufacturing of medicines in the coming decade while ensuring historically distressed communities have opportunities to thrive through careers in an impactful, rapidly growing industry.”
The first phase winners, chosen from almost 400 regional consortia applications, consisted of various partners, including industry representatives, academia, state and local governments, economic development organizations, and labor and workforce partners.
The Department of Commerce has also launched a second Tech Hubs Notice of Funding Opportunity, allowing these designated Tech Hubs to apply for implementation funding between $40 million and $70 million each, totaling nearly $500 million.
For more information: https://www.eda.gov/funding/programs/regional-technology-and-innovation-hubs