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Project Rationale

The Capital Region (Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Saratoga counties) is at the center of Tech Valley. This formal declaration of Tech Valley marked the beginning of a concerted, aggressive effort on the part of community leaders joined together throughout this 18-county region to actively promote, pursue, and recruit nanotechnology investment in this region:

• In 2003, New York State entered into a $320 million research and development partnership with SEMATECH in the creation of SEMATECH North at Albany NanoTech, part of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the State University at Albany. Since its inception in 1997, the $3 billion, 450,000 square-foot Albany NanoTech complex housed within the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the University at Albany has attracted over 250 global corporate partners. In May 2007, New York State announced an expanded seven-year deal that would initially generate 450 new jobs, with a long term impact of another 4,500 jobs in high-tech industry.

• In addition, General Electric Co. invested $100 million to revitalize its R&D Center to become the GE Global Research Center in Schenectady, NY. With 1,900 employees, including 1,300 researchers, the Center is currently one of the largest high-tech employers in the region.

• Also, at approximately the same time, Tokyo Electro Ltd. announced the establishment of a $300 million R&D facility at Albany Nanotech.

• Over the past four years, Albany Nanotech has grown significantly from its beginnings in 2002 with 72 employees. By the end of 2008, the CNSE complex will total 750,000 square feet of cutting-edge facilities with 85,000 square feet of 300mm wafer clean rooms, $3.5 billion in investments and 2,000 R&D jobs on site. The newest player on the semiconductor and nanotechnology employers’ field is Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). AMD is planning to build a 1.2 million square foot plant in the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Saratoga County.

• Construction of the new facility is anticipated to begin in 2009. This 1.2 million square-foot facility will produce microprocessors based on 45 nanometer and 32 nanometer technology, making it one of the most advanced in the world. The addition of the new plant would create 1,200 new jobs, including an immediate need for 600 technicians.