Indiana’s Heartland BioWorks hub awarded $51 million in federal funding

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s Heartland BioWorks hub will receive $51 million from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration made the announcement Tuesday. The money will support the implementation of the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) program in Indiana.

Applied Research Institute’s (ARI) Heartland BioWorks hub was designated as one of 31 regional hubs in October. It’s one of only twelve to win implementation funding.

The grant was made possible by the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (“Tech Hubs”) program created by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which was co-authored by Sen. Todd Young.

“Indiana’s new Tech Hub designation has opened our state up to a next level of opportunities,” said Gov. Eric Holcomb. “Now that we have been awarded nearly $51 million to support the implementation, it’s full steam ahead in workforce development and building the specific talent pipelines to support the exact type of innovative business growth and entrepreneurship we want.”

Heartland BioWorks brings together multiple stakeholders from industry, academia, government and nonprofit sectors to ensure that bioproducts invented in America are also made in the U.S. Members include Eli Lilly, Elanco, Corteva, INCOG, Roche, Indiana University, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and Ivy Tech Community College.

“This grant validates Gov. Holcomb’s vision for creating an economy of the future, and confirms what our ecosystem has known for a long time—that Indiana is a global pioneer in biotech production,” said ARI CEO Dave Roberts. “Heartland BioWorks is securing America’s biotech future, and this funding will provide critical support to accelerate workforce development and remove barriers for entrepreneurs bringing new biotech products to market.”

The grant will support projects that are:

• Attracting and connecting workers, including those historically excluded from the innovation workforce to quality jobs.
• Establishing a formal network to provide navigation resources, mentorship and greater access to facilities and venture capital funding to help innovators successfully scale and launch their bioproducts in the region.
• Constructing BioWorks HQ, a hands-on biomanufacturing training facility for diverse participants to effectively enter the workforce and for current employees to upskill—and for innovators to test and demonstrate their biotech innovations.
• Implementing a grant program to help early-stage innovators surmount cost barriers to accessing these product development facilities, keeping biotech inventions and supply in the U.S.
• Developing training pathways, leveraging curricula from Indiana’s higher education institutions and other globally recognized training programs to prepare participants for high-quality jobs in biomanufacturing operator and lab technician roles once the BioWorks HQ is constructed.

The twelve tech hubs awarded grant money span 14 states: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

In all, the hubs received more than $500 million in implementation funding designed to “position American workers, businesses, and communities to lead the industries of the future, such as semiconductors, clean energy, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and more, strengthening national and economic security.”

Here are the twelve tech hubs receiving implementation grants:

1. Elevate Quantum Tech Hub , led by Elevate Quantum, seeks to solidify Colorado’s global leadership in quantum information technology (QIT) to enable progress in areas such as artificial intelligence, climate tech and healthcare with approximately $41 million in Tech Hubs awards serving Colorado and New Mexico.
2. Headwaters Hub , led by Accelerate Montana, aims to become a global leader in smart, autonomous, photonic remote sensing technologies with approximately $41 million in Tech Hubs awards serving Montana.
3. Heartland BioWorks , led by the Applied Research Institute, aims to transform Central Indiana into a global leader in biotechnology and biomanufacturing by increasing the region’s capacity to make and deploy life-saving medicines with approximately $51 million in Tech Hubs awards serving Indiana.
4. iFAB Tech Hub , led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, seeks to scale precision fermentation to convert underutilized corn feedstocks into high-value, customized alternative proteins, food ingredients, materials, chemicals, and more with approximately $51 million in Tech Hubs awards serving Illinois.
5. Nevada Tech Hub , led by the University of Nevada, Reno, aims to build a self-sustaining and globally competitive full lithium lifecycle cluster, spanning extraction, processing, manufacturing, and recycling with approximately $21 million in Tech Hubs awards serving Nevada.
6. NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub , led by CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity, aims to enhance regional semiconductor manufacturing capabilities while ensuring economic opportunity for underserved communities with approximately $40 million in Tech Hubs awards serving New York.
7. ReGen Valley Tech Hub , led by the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, aims to make New Hampshire a global leader in biofabrication to produce cost-effective regenerative therapies that address chronic disease and organ failure with approximately $44 million in Tech Hubs awards serving New Hampshire.
8. SC Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy , led by the South Carolina Department of Commerce, aims to be a global leader in advanced energy, with a focus on cyber-secure grid resilience technologies (GRT) and improving the clean energy supply chain by expanding opportunities for developing, testing, and deploying exportable electricity technologies with approximately $45 million in Tech Hubs awards serving South Carolina and Georgia.
9. South Florida ClimateReady Tech Hub , led by the Miami Dade County Office of Innovation and Economic Development, aims to advance its global leadership in sustainable and resilient infrastructure (SRI) solutions for the global climate crisis with approximately $19 million in Tech Hubs awards serving Florida.
10. Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub , led by the Greater Akron Chamber in Ohio, aims to tackle the severe climate and environmental impacts resulting from the use of fossil fuel-derived polymers (rubbers and plastics) by accelerating sustainable polymer manufacturing and commercialization with approximately $51 million in Tech Hubs awards serving Ohio.
11. Tulsa Hub for Equitable & Trustworthy Autonomy (THETA Tech Hub) , led by Tulsa Innovation Labs, aims to become a global leader in developing and commercializing autonomous systems for use cases ranging from agriculture and pipeline inspections to regional transportation with approximately $51 million in Tech Hubs awards serving Oklahoma.
12. Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub , led by BioForward Wisconsin, aims to position Wisconsin as a global leader in personalized medicine, an emerging healthcare approach that tailors tests, treatments, and therapies informed by a patient’s unique genetic code, medical record, and environment with approximately $49 million in Tech Hubs awards serving Wisconsin.

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