Notice of Funding Opportunity: Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing

Notice of Funding Opportunity: Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing is sponsored by U.S. Department of Commerce / National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This funding opportunity, part of the CHIPS for America program, supports projects for the construction, expansion, or modernization of commercial facilities for semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment.

CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 1 of 33 AMENDED NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (NOFO) CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment • Federal Agency Name: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce • Funding Opportunity Title: CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment • Announcement Type: Amendment • Funding Opportunity Number : 2023-NIST-CHIPS-SMME-01 • Assistance Listing (CFDA Number): 11.

037 – CHIPS Incentives Program o This amendment re-opens and extends the period of acceptance of applications, which was originally open from December 1, 2023, through February 1, 2024, so that concept plans will now be accepted through November 1, 2026.

o For applications that are invited to advance to the full application phase, the CHIPS Program Office will communicate full application submission dates to applicants individually upon notifying them of their advancement. The Department of Commerce may amend this NOFO at any time. It may also close the funding opportunity with at least 60 days’ notice.

• Application Submission Address: https://applications. chips. gov Funding Opportunity Description: The CHIPS Incentives Program aims to catalyze long-term economically sustainable growth in the domestic semiconductor industry in support of U.S. economic and national security.

This is an amendment to the second Notice of Funding Opportunity under this program. It seeks applications for projects for the construction, expansion, or modernization of commercial facilities for semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment. CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 2 of 33 I.

Program Description ........................................................................................................... 3 A. Program Objectives ..........................................................................................................

3 B. Program Summary............................................................................................................ 4 C.

Program Priorities ............................................................................................................ 8 II. Federal Award Information ..............................................................................................

11 A. Funding Instrument ........................................................................................................ 11 B.

Funding Availability ...................................................................................................... 12 C. Award Amount ...............................................................................................................

12 D. Period of Performance .................................................................................................... 12 III.

Eligibility Information ....................................................................................................... 12 A. Eligible Applicants .........................................................................................................

12 IV. Application and Submission Information........................................................................ 13 A.

How to Access an Application Package ......................................................................... 13 B. Submission Dates and Times .........................................................................................

13 C. Confidential Information ................................................................................................ 14 D.

False Statements ............................................................................................................. 16 E. Application Requirements ..............................................................................................

16 F. Requirements for Attachments Submitted through the CHIPS Incentives Program Application Portal ..................................................................................................................... 16 G.

Content and Form of Concept Plan ................................................................................ 16 H. Content and Form of Full Application Submission .......................................................

19 I. Funding Restrictions ...................................................................................................... 26 J.

Prohibition on Profit and Fees. ....................................................................................... 26 V.

Application Review Information ...................................................................................... 27 A. Concept Plan Evaluation Criteria ...................................................................................

27 B. Selection Factors ............................................................................................................ 28 C.

Full Application Evaluation Criteria .............................................................................. 28 D. Review and Selection Process ........................................................................................

29 E. Responsibility / Qualification Records on SAM. gov .....................................................

31 F. Additional Information ................................................................................................... 31 VI.

Federal Award Administration Information................................................................... 31 A. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts ..............................................................................

32 VII. Appendix ............................................................................................................................. 32 A.

Definitions ......................................................................................................................

32 CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 3 of 33 This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seeks applications for the CHIPS Incentives Program, authorized by Title XCIX—Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L.

116-283, referred to as the CHIPS Act or Act), as amended by the CHIPS Act of 2022 (Division A of Pub. L. 117-167).

The CHIPS Incentives Program is administered by the CHIPS Program Office (CPO) within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the United States Department of Commerce (Department).

This NOFO seeks applications for CHIPS Incentives Awards that will support investments in the construction, expansion, or modernization of commercial facilities in the United States for semiconductor materials and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Awards made pursuant to this NOFO will be in a form consistent with the CHIPS Act.

The CHIPS Incentives Program aims to strengthen U.S. economic and national security, including economic resilience and competitiveness.

The CHIPS Act sets forth multiple dimensions of this overriding objective: • Strengthening the security and resilience of the semiconductor supply chain, including by mitigating gaps and vulnerabilities • Providing a supply of secure semiconductors relevant for national security • Strengthening the leadership of the United States in semiconductor technology • Growing the economy of the United States and supporting job creation in the United States • Bolstering the semiconductor and skilled technical workforces in the United States • Improving the resilience of the semiconductor supply chains of critical manufacturing industries 1 For the CHIPS Incentives Program to be successful on these many dimensions, it must lay the groundwork for long-term growth and economic sustainability in the domestic semiconductor industry and promote the secure and resilient supply chains on which the sector relies.

The industry must have a robust and skilled workforce and a diverse base of suppliers for semiconductor production. It must support research and development (R&D) that will drive innovation in design, materials, and processes that will accelerate the industries of the future.

And it must support the broader U.S. economy, propelling American workers into high wage careers, upholding the dignity of hard work, and delivering the talent businesses need to power the nation’s economic resurgence. > 1See 15 U.S.C. § 4652(d).

CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 4 of 33 In addition, for the CHIPS Incentives Program to succeed, the Federal funds invested must serve as a catalyst to galvanize private, state, and local investment in the semiconductor industry. That is, the program funds are a supplement to, not a replacement for, other sources of capital.

The CHIPS Incentives Program seeks to fund applicants that demonstrate a commitment to investment in the United States for the long term and projects that maximize private sources of capital. Only private industry can marshal the resources necessary to make the sustaining investments needed in the decades that follow to maintain a resilient, economically viable, and growing U.S. semiconductor industry.

The CHIPS Incentives Program is intended to fund a variety of projects to achieve its economic and national security objectives. Projects will vary in technology, scale, cost, location, risk, workforce needs, and other factors.

To fund any project, the Department must determine that the project is in the economic and national security interests of the United States and satisfies the CHIPS Act’s eligibility requirements, as well as the amount of funding appropriate for the investment. 2 This NOFO describes considerations and procedures the Department will use to make these determinations.

This section summarizes, in a question-and-answer format, certain eligibility and procedural requirements for applications under this NOFO. 1. What projects are eligible for funding under this NOFO?

This NOFO seeks applications for the construction, expansion, or modernization of commercial facilities in the United States in the following categories. Semiconductor Materials Facilities for the manufacture or production, including growth or extraction, of materials used to manufacture semiconductors, which are the chemicals, gases, raw and intermediate materials, and other consumables used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Facilities for the physical production of specialized equipment integral to the manufacturing of semiconductors and subsystems that enable or are incorporated into the manufacturing equipment. Note that the Department will not fund applications that lack sufficient scale to meaningfully contribute to the objectives outlined in this NOFO.

The Department expects that projects with capital investments below $20 million are unlikely to meet this standard. If a sub-$20 million project does meet this standard, the Department generally expects other stakeholders—including chipmakers, larger suppliers, and state and local entities—to make the project viable without CHIPS funding. > 2See 15 U.S.C.

§§ 4652(a)(2)(C)(i)(I)-(II), 4652(a)(3)(A). CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 5 of 33 2. What are the eligibility requirements for funding under this NOFO?

The CHIPS Act imposes several eligibility requirements for funding. First, funding is available only to “covered entities.

” 3 This term includes private entities or consortia of private and public entities with a demonstrated ability to substantially finance, construct, expand, or modernize a facility relating to fabrication, assembly, testing, advanced packaging, production, or research and development of semiconductors, materials used to manufacture semiconductors, or semiconductor manufacturing equipment. 4 Section III.

A describes this requirement in more detail. Second, funding is available to covered entities “to incentivize investment in facilities and equipment in the United States” for the production of materials used to manufacture semiconductors or semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

5 An applicant must demonstrate how the CHIPS Incentives requested will incentivize the applicant to make investments in facilities and equipment in the United States that would not occur in the absence of the CHIPS Incentives. Third, funding must be for the construction, expansion, or modernization of facilities of the kind described in Section I. B.

1 . 6 For the purposes of this NOFO, construction means the construction of a new facility. Expansion or modernization includes, for example, significantly enlarging an existing facility, increasing the capacity of an existing facility via a material capital investment, such as by adding a new production line, and upgrading an existing facility, such as converting a facility from another use.

Both expansions and modernizations will be evaluated on the materiality of the investment relative to existing production. Projects that involve relocating a material amount of equipment, facilities, or production from one facility in the United States to another facility, new or expanded, are disfavored. Such projects will be deemed nonresponsive to this NOFO absent a compelling economic or national security justification.

7 Fourth, the CHIPS Act specifies that the covered entity must have a documented interest in constructing, expanding, or modernizing an eligible facility.

8 With respect to such construction, expansion, or modernization, the CHIPS Act requires that the covered entity shall: • Have been offered a covered incentive from a state or local jurisdiction (state or local incentive) where the project is located, for the purposes of attracting the construction, expansion, or modernization of the facility 9 > 3See 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(1). > 4See 15 U.S.C.

§ 4651(2). > 5See 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(1).

> 6See 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(4)(A). > 715 U.S.C.

§ 4652(a)(2)(C)(iv). > 815 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(2)(B)(i).

> 915 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(2)(B)(ii)(I); 15 U.S.C. § 4651(3)(A).

CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 6 of 33 • Make commitments to worker and community investment, including through training and education benefits paid by the covered entity and programs to expand employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged individuals 10 • Secure commitments from regional educational and training entities and institutions of higher education to provide workforce training, including programming for training and job placement of economically disadvantaged individuals 11 • Have an “executable plan,” i.e., a plan reasonably capable of successful implementation, to sustain the facility without additional funding from the CHIPS Incentives Program 12 • Have documented its workforce needs and produced a strategy to meet such workforce needs as well as the aforementioned commitments to worker and community investment 13 • Have determined the types of semiconductor technology it will produce at the proposed facility, and the customers, or categories of customers, to whom the items will be sold, 14 • Have developed an “executable plan” to identify and mitigate relevant semiconductor supply chain security risks.

15 The Department has designed this NOFO, including the application requirements and review process, to ensure that these statutory requirements will be met for projects receiving CHIPS Incentives. 3. What constitutes a project for purposes of an application?

For the purposes of an application, a “project” is a set of capital expenditures for the construction, expansion, or modernization of a facility. A project also includes any related workforce development or operating expense costs for the facility that the applicant proposes to cover with CHIPS Incentives funds. 4.

May applicants apply for funding under this NOFO as part of a consortium, and if so, how? Yes, applicants may apply for funding under this NOFO as part of a consortium. The Department will award funding on a per-project basis to consortium members proposing to construct, expand, or modernize a facility eligible under this NOFO.

The Department expects the entity submitting the application to be the for-profit entity within the consortium that will own and/or operate the project facility. These applicants must also submit a consortium narrative detailing the other members of the consortium and the overall strategic vision of the consortium, among other relevant information. > 10 15 U.S.C.

§ 4652(a)(2)(B)(ii)(II)(aa)-(bb). > 11 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(2)(B)(ii)(III).

> 12 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(2)(B)(ii)(IV). > 13 15 U.S.C.

§ 4652(a)(2)(B)(ii)(VI). > 14 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(2)(B)(ii)(V).

> 15 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(2)(B)(iii). CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 7 of 33 Under this NOFO, consortia do not need to have an umbrella organization or other formal legal structure.

Consortium members must, however, actively collaborate and align on the content of each application submitted as part of the consortium. In evaluating projects submitted as part of a consortium, the Department will consider the extent to which the consortium’s strategic vision advances economic and national security, and the extent to which a given project is necessary for achieving that vision.

Thus, the Department strongly encourages consortia to be selective in choosing projects. 5. How can CHIPS Incentives funds be used?

Funds made available under the CHIPS Incentives Program may be spent only on eligible uses, which include the costs to: • finance the construction, expansion, or modernization of a facility, or equipment for that facility • support site development and modernization for a facility • support workforce development for a facility • pay reasonable operating expenses for a facility, as determined by the Department.

16 Not all of the applicant’s activities within a project may be eligible to receive program funds. However, as described in Sections IV. G.

3 and IV. H. 4 , the applicant must clearly describe any activities within its proposed project that may be eligible uses for CHIPS Incentives.

Certain purposes are ineligible uses for CHIPS Incentives. See Section IV. I for more details.

6. How does the application process work? The application process includes two primary phases.

In the first phase, applicants will be asked to submit a concept plan describing how their proposed project addresses core program priorities. The Department will then invite the most promising applicants to the second phase, where they will have the opportunity to submit a full application.

The Department will communicate full application submission dates to those applicants selected to advance, and may work with applicants selected to advance as they shape their concept paper into a full application. Applicants that advance in the process will be subject to due diligence prior to award. For more information on the application process, see Section V.

D. If an applicant is applying as part of a consortium: Each member of a consortium that seeks CHIPS Incentives for a project to construct, expand, or modernize a facility eligible for funding under this NOFO must submit a separate concept plan and, if invited to the second phase, a separate full application. Each project will be evaluated on its own merits.

Consortium applicants will be required to provide details about their consortium in a separate consortium narrative. In evaluating an individual project proposed as part of a consortium, the Department will consider > 16 See 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(4).

CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 8 of 33 the strength of the consortium’s overall strategic vision and the extent to which an individual project is necessary to advance that vision. For more information, see Sections V. C.

and V. D. The CHIPS Incentives Program seeks to further priorities relating to economic and national security, workforce, and other matters.

This section provides information about the program’s priorities. Applicants should develop their applications with these priorities in mind, as they relate to various requirements and evaluative criteria that will form the basis for the Department’s application review process. Applications that do not meet program priorities will not receive funding.

The Department will not fund applications that lack sufficient scale to meaningfully contribute to the objectives outlined in this NOFO. The Department expects projects with capital investments below $20 million are unlikely to meet this standard.

If a sub-$20 million project does meet this standard, the Department generally expects other stakeholders—including chipmakers, larger suppliers, and state and local entities— make the project viable without CHIPS funding. 1. Economic and National Security Objectives Advancing U.S. economic and national security is the principal objective of the CHIPS Incentives Program.

With respect to economic security, this NOFO contains a particular focus on incentivizing the development of vibrant, sustainable semiconductor clusters. These clusters are critical to creating a robust semiconductor ecosystem in the United States.

In addition, the Department seeks to invest in operationally secure projects employing appropriate cybersecurity practices, as well as implementing plans to promote supply chain security and risk management. Projects must be protected from internal and external risks ranging from insider threats to disaster recovery and ensure their supply chain is resilient to disruption.

Moreover, projects should generally be capable of continued operations for a period of time without access to non-U.S. facilities and personnel. a.

Economic Security Objectives The Department has laid out three objectives for its investments in semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment facilities: (1) strengthening supply chain resilience, (2) advancing U.S. technology leadership in semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment, and (3) supporting vibrant U.S. fab clusters.

Through this amended NOFO, the Department is particularly focused on the third goal: supporting vibrant U.S. fab clusters. The Department seeks applications for semiconductor material and equipment facilities that advance clusters by closing critical gaps in the U.S. supplier landscape, for example by reducing the burdens associated with transporting critical supply chain inputs.

CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 9 of 33 With respect to strengthening supply chain resilience, the Department seeks projects that address chokepoint risks flowing from geographic concentration and reduce the risks of production disruptions due to chronic shortages of critical supply chain inputs.

With respect to advancing U.S. technology leadership, the Department seeks projects that advance U.S. technology leadership by reinforcing existing supply chain strengths and/or developing new and innovative capabilities in the United States.

The Department encourages major U.S. semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials suppliers to increase their footprints in the United States, and aims to attract non-U.S. suppliers of the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, materials, and subsystems to establish large-scale footprints in the United States.

Ultimately, the Department recognizes that all three objectives are self-reinforcing: supporting vibrant U.S. fab clusters, for example, can generate efficiencies and innovation that end up strengthening supply chain resilience and/or technology leadership. The Department welcomes projects that support one or more of these objectives. b.

National Security Objectives As foundational components to U.S. defense and critical infrastructure systems, semiconductors are vital to U.S. national security. The government organizations and contractors that fulfill national security missions require stable, long-term onshore access to semiconductors, which in turn requires a robust, secure domestic semiconductor supply chain.

As relevant, CPO encourages applicants to identify the national security programs and platforms the project supports, any customers in the defense industrial base, and any government points-of-contact who can validate that the project will advance national security.

The Department also acknowledges that the risk of malicious disruptions to semiconductors and their supply chains has risen in concert with increased chip complexity, process separation, and outsourcing. The evolving threat landscape, coupled with today’s digitized world, provides a large attack surface for adversaries to steal, compromise, alter, or destroy sensitive information that is critical to economic and national security.

The Department seeks applicants that have made themselves resilient to these attacks, such as by establishing a strategy to protect intellectual property and by assuring the security of their product quality and supply chain to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, and other security issues.

The Department will also evaluate projects based on their ability to mitigate additional operational and cybersecurity risks, including those posed by insider threats, external influence from foreign entities of concern, dependence on foreign-owned or sourced inputs or equipment, and espionage. Supply chain security is critical to ensure safe and continued production of semiconductors.

The Department seeks projects with demonstrated resilience measures through the protection of physical infrastructure and the supplier ecosystem, and risk management strategies—such as regular supply chain mapping—to avoid supply chain exploitation or the theft of intellectual property.

CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 10 of 33 The Department will also consider the national security risks of the location of any upstream or downstream steps in the semiconductor material or equipment manufacturing process. Long-term commercial viability is an essential component of any successful application.

Commercially viable projects will be grounded on a sound business case providing reliable cash flows that are sufficient to maintain continuity of operations and continued investment in the facility.

Each applicant must describe the type of semiconductor material or equipment the proposed project will produce, where in the semiconductor manufacturing process the technology is used, and key semiconductor- and non-semiconductor-related end markets. 17 A strong application will present a sophisticated understanding, backed by evidence, of the demand for a project’s output and other sources of existing and potential future supply.

Each applicant must also identify the customers, or categories of customers, for a project’s output, and strong applications will include evidence of offtake commitments or other evidence of specific customer demand. 18 The Department encourages proposals that attract more private capital and induce larger-scale, private domestic investments.

The Department also encourages purchase commitments and collaborations across the supply chain to clarify future demand, improve transparency and trust, and mitigate the risk of future supply chain shortages or oversupply. The CHIPS Incentives Program does not provide enough funding on its own to create the capacity needed to meet the program’s economic and national security objectives.

Applicants should structure the finances of their project in a way that maximizes private-sector contributions and minimizes the need for government incentives. The Department may decline to award CHIPS Incentives if the applicant has not demonstrated sufficient efforts to maximize the use of private-sector funds.

The Department will evaluate the degree to which the applicant, through its funding request, leverages private investment, incentives provided by state and local governments, and the Investment Tax Credit (to the extent applicable) to increase scale and lower the need for CHIPS Incentives. The Department will also ask applicants to submit a financial model, which will inform a comprehensive assessment of a project’s finances. 4.

Project Technical Feasibility and Readiness Timely construction and effective operation of facilities is crucial to the overall success of the CHIPS Incentives Program. Project technical feasibility includes the ability of the applicant to construct, equip, and operate the proposed project.

To demonstrate technical feasibility, applicants will be asked to provide a construction plan, including a construction schedule and a list of key partners, contractors, and suppliers. > 17 See 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(2)(B)(ii)(V)(aa).

> 18 See 15 U.S.C. § 4652(a)(2)(B)(ii)(V)(bb). CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 11 of 33 Activities funded under this NOFO will be subject to various Federal, state, and local environmental and permitting requirements.

The Department intends to prioritize applications that demonstrate a clear path to meeting these requirements in a timely manner. A strong, long-term workforce strategy is critical to achieving the economic and national security goals of the CHIPS Act.

Each applicant will therefore lay out their strategy to recruit, train, hire, retain, and upskill a workforce consistent with Executive Order 14278: Preparing Americans for High Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future, and Executive Order 14173: Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.

All applicants must comply with all applicable Federal labor and employment laws, including but not limited to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the National Labor Relations Act, which protects employees’ right to bargain collectively and engage in concerted activities for the purpose of workers’ mutual aid or protection.

To be eligible for CHIPS funding, applicants must secure “commitments from regional educational and training entities and institutions of higher education to provide workforce training, including programming for training and job placement of economically disadvantaged individuals.

” 19 Applicants are strongly encouraged to work with such partners to articulate their approach to meeting their facility and construction workforce needs through training and recruitment of American workers.

For both their facility and construction workforce, applicants must provide a workforce needs assessment; outline evidence-informed strategies for recruitment, training, and retention; and describe their approach to ensuring job quality. The Department strongly encourages the use of project labor agreements in connection with construction projects when those agreements are practicable and cost effective.

All laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors on a construction project that receives financial assistance under the CHIPS Incentives Program shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar construction in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, commonly referred to as the “Davis-Bacon Act. ” II.

Federal Award Information CHIPS Incentives will be provided through this NOFO, as appropriate, in a form consistent with the CHIPS Act. The final composition and structure of any financial assistance awards made under this program will be determined during the review and selection process. > 19 See 15 U.S.C.

§ 4652(a)(2)(B)(ii)(III). CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 12 of 33 The amounts awarded under this NOFO will depend on program priorities and the quality of applications received. The total amount of a CHIPS award will vary by project.

The specific period of performance will vary depending on the size and complexity of the project and the specific activities funded and will be negotiated with the applicant and reflected in the award documents. The conclusion of an award’s period of performance does not signify the end of a recipient’s obligations related to a CHIPS Incentives Award. III.

Eligibility Information 1. Covered Entity Requirement An applicant must be a “covered entity” to receive CHIPS Incentives.

For purposes of this NOFO, a “covered entity” means a nonprofit entity; a private-sector entity; a consortium of private-sector entities; or a consortium of nonprofit, public, and private-sector entities with a demonstrated ability to substantially finance, construct, expand, or modernize a facility relating to the fabrication, assembly, testing, advanced packaging, production, or research and development of semiconductors, materials used to manufacture semiconductors, or semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

With respect to consortium applications, the Department will award funds on a per-project basis to each private-sector, domestic legal entity responsible for constructing, expanding, or modernizing a facility eligible for CHIPS funding under this NOFO. 20 A recipient will assume legal and financial responsibility for the CHIPS Incentives received, including any funds provided to subrecipients and contractors.

The Department may require that the parent or affiliated entities of the recipient provide commitments or guarantees for the benefit of the Federal government or to advance program priorities.

> 20 Multiple recipients or a nondomestic recipient may be permitted, at the sole discretion of the Department, in exceptional cases, such as in cases of applications involving more than one member of an affiliated group, i.e. a corporate parent and one or more of its subsidiaries.

Such exceptions will only be granted if consistent with applicable law and where providing for multiple recipients would further program or project objectives and would not undermine the ability of the Department to evaluate an application and monitor and enforce compliance with the terms of any resulting CHIPS Incentives Award. Multiple recipients will not be permitted where the recipients are not part of the same affiliated group.

After the submission of a concept plan, a submitter may seek guidance on whether a multiple recipient or nondomestic recipient option may be available for its potential application. CHIPS Incentives Program – Facilities for Semiconductor Materials and Manufacturing Equipment Notice of Funding Opportunity Page 13 of 33 2.

Foreign Entities of Concern and Foreign Capital Foreign entities of concern 21 are not eligible to receive CHIPS Incentives. 22 In addition, the Department will review applications for involvement of foreign entities of concern and will not approve any applications where a foreign entity of concern—through control, 23 access to information, or other mechanisms—poses an undue risk to a project or U.S. national security interests.

Applicants are required to provide information via the SF-328 form at the time of full application to enable an initial assessment of these issues. Additional information, beyond the scope of the SF-328 form, may be required in due diligence, to further identify and, if necessary, mitigate potential risks to national security.

CHIPS Incentives Awards will also involve requirements to enable identification and mitigation of national security risks posed by involvement of foreign entities of concern that may arise after an application is approved. 3. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing or matching funds, as governed by 2 CFR § 200.

306, are not legally required for this NOFO. Each applicant must be able to demonstrate that they have sufficient resources available to complete the proposed project, when combined with the requested CHIPS Incentives. IV.

Application and Submission Information A. How to Access an Application Package Application forms and instructions are available on the CHIPS Incentives Program application portal. FAQs, guides and templates are available at https://www.

chips. gov. B. Submission Dates and Times This amendment re-opens and extends the period of acceptance of applications, which was originally open from December 1, 2023, through February 1, 2024, so that concept plans will now be accepted through November 1, 2026.

For applicants that are invited to advance to the full application phase, the CHIPS Program Office will communicate full application submission dates to applicants