Micron set to get $6.1 bln in chip grants from US

April 18 (Reuters) - Memory chip maker Micron Technology (MU.O), opens new tab is set to receive $6.1 billion in grants from the U.S. Commerce Department to help pay for domestic chip factory projects, Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday.

The award, which is not yet finalized, will fund chipmaking facilities in New York and Idaho from the CHIPS & Science law, the New York senator said in a statement.

“This monumental and historic federal investment will power and propel Micron to bring its transformative $100+ billion four-fab project in central New York to life, creating an estimated 50,000 jobs,” he said.

Micron plans to build a complex of chip plants in New York over the next 20 years, the senator added.

The news caps off a string of Chips Act grants announced by the Biden administration in recent weeks as the United States seeks to reduce reliance on China and Taiwan and supercharge its own lagging chip production.

The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has fallen from 37% in 1990 to 12% in 2020, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Lawmakers have warned that U.S. dependence on chips manufactured in Taiwan by the world's top contract chip manufacturer, TSMC (2330.TW), opens new tab, is risky because China claims the self-governed island as its territory and has reserved the right to use force to retake it.

Intel won $8.5 billion in grants last month while Taiwan's TSMC clinched $6.6 billion in April to build out its American production. Samsung followed this week with a $6.4 billion award to boost production in Texas.

The historic Chips Act allocates $52.6 billion to support the sector. The Commerce Department is dedicating $28 billion for government subsidies for advanced chips manufacturing - although it has more than $70 billion in requests - and also has $75 billion in lending authority.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement that the largest private investment in American history is on its way to Central New York.