Indiana group lands regional tech hub status. Here's why that's a big deal
Indiana’s Applied Research Institute secured another massive economic development win for the state Monday after a federal agency designated Heartland BioWorks, a group of Indiana stakeholders, as a Regional Technology and Innovation Hub.
The designation, from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, allows Heartland BioWorks to compete for up to $75 million in grants later this year, according to a Monday news release.
The Heartland BioWorks designation comes on the heels of another federal announcement last month in which the U.S. Department of Defense shared that Indiana would be home to one of eight new regional semiconductor hubs across the country as part of funding from U.S. Sen. Todd Young’s CHIPS and Science Act.
What does this all mean for Indiana? Here’s what you need to know.
Another Applied Research Institute win: Indiana wins $33 million grant for semiconductor hub thanks to Sen. Todd Young's CHIPS Act
What is the Applied Research Institute?
The Indiana-based Applied Research Institute helps connect education, government and various industry leaders to grow national security research and business efforts that can help solve challenges for the Department of Defense. The institute is focusing on hypersonics, cyber-physical systems, microelectronics and artificial intelligence.
Applied Research Institute board members include Gov. Eric Holcomb, several university presidents and CEOs.
The Applied Research Institute was launched in 2017 and established through a $16.2 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., according to the organization’s website.
What is Heartland BioWorks?
Heartland BioWorks is made up of a number of Indiana’s government, business, education and research institutions joined with the goal of having U.S.-invented bioproducts produced in the United States. The hub includes Ivy Tech Community College, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the 16 Tech Innovation District and the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute.
Heartland BioWorks plans to focus on three gaps in biotechnology identified by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, according to a news release: training, partnering small businesses with manufacturers, and providing dollars and resources to produce new technology.
What is a regional tech hub designation?
The Regional Technology and Innovation Hub designation allows for organizations to compete for money that will help workforce development in life science industries and ease the challenges small business owners face when it comes to working with biotech products, according to Monday's release.
The designation is part of the Regional Tech Hub program that was created under the CHIPS and Science Act, which became law in 2022 and was co-sponsored by Young.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration aims for the program to help designated areas manufacture and produce technology that will help the country become more competitive in life science manufacturing.
Why does it matter?
Many Indiana-based companies, such as Eli Lilly and Elanco, have experience in manufacturing and the life sciences industry, which the Applied Research Institute believes can make Indiana a national leader when it comes to producing and researching new technologies.
The new designation from the U.S. Economic Development Administration will allow Heartland BioWorks to compete against other regional technology and innovation hubs for up to $75 million in grants.
Those dollars can help increase collaboration between research institutions, government and other industries to help grow businesses in Indiana, according to the Applied Research Institute’s website.
What are local leaders saying?
Government leaders praised the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub designation as a win for Hoosiers and manufacturing in the state.
“When I authored the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program, my goal was to spur more innovation in technologies of the future in places like Indiana, rather than just Silicon Valley and a few coastal cities,” Young said in a statement.
“This is just the news we hoped to receive. The EDA’s designation of Heartland BioWorks as a Regional Tech Hub is a recognition of Indiana’s rich tradition of innovation and leadership in both the manufacturing and life science sectors,” Holcomb said in a statement.
What other states got a Regional Technology and Innovation Hub designation?
Heartland BioWorks is one of 31 organizations across the country that received a hub designation.
Some of the other groups with designations include Baltimore Tech Hub, Elevate Quantum Colorado, Gulf Louisiana Offshore Wind Propeller and Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub.
Contact IndyStar's state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Heartland BioWorks named regional technology hub: What to know
