Feds send $75M for Covington semiconductor manufacturing plant

(The Center Square) — Federal authorities are giving up to $75 million in federal tax dollars to a private company to help Georgia semiconductor manufacturing.

The money, part of the roughly $54 billion CHIPS Act of 2022, will go to Absolics, a subsidiary of South Korea’s SKC, to support the construction of a 120,000-square-foot facility in Covington. Officials said the project should create roughly 1,200 manufacturing and construction jobs.

Absolics broke ground on its Covington manufacturing facility in November 2022. The U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, confirmed the award in Thursday announcements.

“When we set out to pass the bipartisan Chips Act through Congress, it was with this exact goal in mind,” Ossoff said in a statement. “This historic Federal investment will create Georgia jobs, support U.S. national security, and bring more advanced manufacturing to our state.”

Absolics manufactures glass substrate, a component used in next-generation semiconductor manufacturing. In a Thursday morning press briefing, Ossoff said the investment is vital to national and economic security.

In a release, the company’s chief executive said the funding will help Absolics “to fully commercialize our pioneering glass substrate technology for use in high-performance computing and cutting-edge defense applications.”

“This effort is crucial in establishing a robust semiconductor advanced packaging ecosystem in the State of Georgia and restoring the U.S.’s leadership in [the] semiconductor industry,” Absolics CEO Jun Rok Oh said in a statement. “Our new facility in Covington will not only enhance our ability to produce high-quality glass substrates but also create high-skilled jobs and drive innovation through our partnership with Georgia Tech.”

A spokesman for Republican Gov. Brian Kemp touted the governor’s role and the state’s regulatory environment for helping make the investment possible.

“As the first economic development project worked on by the Kemp administration, the governor remains excited about the progress being made and opportunities being created by our Georgia-based partner,” Garrison Douglas, a Kemp spokesperson, told The Center Square via email. “As we still see today, thanks to our business-friendly environment and reliable infrastructure, partnerships like these really start at the state and local level, not in Washington D.C. where burdensome mandates and red tape rule the day.”