$1.8 billion manufacturing facility coming to Purdue University

WEST LAFAYETTE — A new, $1.8 billion semiconductor manufacturing facility is coming to West Lafayette.

SkyWater Technology expects to create 750 new direct jobs at the facility within five years after it opens in the Discovery Park District at Purdue University.

Purdue says the jobs will focus on research and design engineering, technology development, operations engineering, maintenance and technical support and technicians.

The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act, or CHIPS for America Act, supports the nation's research and development, manufacturing and supply chain security of semiconductors.

Purdue says building the facility will depend on SkyWater receiving funds from the CHIPS Act.

"Federal investment will enable SkyWater to more quickly expand our efforts to address the need for strategic reshoring of semiconductor manufacturing. Through our alliance with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Purdue Research Foundation, we have a unique opportunity to increase domestic production, shore up our supply chains and lay the groundwork for manufacturing technologies that will support growing demand for microelectronics," Thomas Sonderman, president and CEO of SkyWater Technology, said in a news release.

The Discovery Park District is a 400-acre, mixed-used development next to Purdue's campus. Earlier this year, Purdue launched a set of interdisciplinary degrees and credentials in semiconductors and microelectronics.