Manchester biofabrication initiative spans 12 regions and is part of $500 million investment
Manchester's efforts to expand mass production of human tissue and organs have been awarded $44 million in federal funding, officials announced Tuesday.
Last fall, “ReGen Valley,” the marketing name for the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI), was named one of 12 technology hubs by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration.
The designation means the biofabrication project will receive a portion of the $504 million allocated to the program. Tuesday's announcement detailed how much each tech hub is set to receive.
“These tech hubs will create good-paying jobs for American workers and provide regions of the country with the resources and opportunities they need to lead in tomorrow's economy,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a news release issued by the Commerce Department.
The EDA said it is selecting projects to fund at each hub, with grant awards expected in the coming months. The announcement marks the federal government's continued investment in the project, which was launched at Manchester Millyard in 2017 by inventor Dean Kamen.
In May, ARMI officials confirmed that the Defense Department would commit $100 million to the project over the next 10 years, an extension of the initial $80 million secured from the Defense Department in 2017. Other major grant funding includes $44 million provided by the Economic Development Administration as part of the 2022 Build Back Better Regional Challenge.
Organizers say the regional effort, which includes Nashua, is expected to create thousands of jobs over the next few years, and they cite workforce training, rising housing costs and a lack of child care as some of the biggest challenges the project faces.
