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Two and a half years ago, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) launched the Regional Innovation Engines program with 9 inaugural NSF Engines advancing critical technologies in regions across the country. This July, 12 more NSF Engines joined the program’s network, representing one of the most significant place-based industrial policy efforts in the nation’s history.
And for good reason. For decades, critical technology development and supply chains transitioned offshore, even as the U.S. research enterprise remained world class. The sectors most essential to national security and competitiveness – semiconductors, critical minerals and materials, biomanufacturing, energy storage – still depend heavily on foreign resources. Workforce gaps and disconnected ecosystems have made it harder to build resilient domestic supply chains that drive durable regional economic growth.
NSF Engines are shifting that dynamic. With the second cohort launching, the nation’s capacity for leadership in science and technology is positioned to grow exponentially, rooted in regions that have historically been underrepresented in federal innovation funding but are rich in talent, assets, and potential.
Explore the expanded portfolio.
Each NSF Engine region and partner network has its own story to tell. Over the last two years, the first engines advanced battery tech and manufacturing capacity in New York, removed harmful contaminants and recovered valuable resources from water in the Great Lakes region, and developed AgTech solutions with growers in North Dakota. They leveraged breakthrough technologies to advance semiconductor packaging techniques in Florida, predicted and prepared for natural hazards in the Mountain West, and developed next-generation solutions for the energy sector in Louisiana. In North Carolina, engines de-risked the development of new regenerative medicine therapies and created circular textile manufacturing systems.
But no single region can solve America’s technology challenges alone. NSF Engines are designed as a connected national network, linking complementary regional strengths to accelerate technology development, grow economies, and prepare talent for emerging jobs in sectors deemed critical by the U.S. government.
With 12 new NSF Engines added to the portfolio, the program’s network more than doubles in reach and expertise. The result is a nation better equipped to strengthen U.S. security, accelerate technology advancement, and secure domestic access to the critical materials, chips, energy resources, and health technologies essential to long-term competitiveness and prosperity.
From critical mineral extraction in Alaska and biomanufacturing in the Midwest and Southeast, to grid modernization in the Carolinas and Appalachia and lasers and photonics in New York, the second cohort of NSF engines are adding strategically chosen strengths to the program’s national portfolio.
Critical minerals and materials. New NSF Engines in Alaska, the Greater Kansas City region, and Northeast Ohio have the potential to connect mineral extraction, refining, and downstream manufacturing, creating the foundation for a continuous domestic supply chain. Together, they can help expand reliable access to the critical materials that power nearly all modern technologies – but are currently sourced largely from overseas. Semiconductors and enabling technologies. NSF’s new investments in Oregon’s AI‑enabled chip design and manufacturing capabilities, Connecticut’s quantum expertise, and New York’s lasers and integrated photonics ecosystem strengthen U.S. leadership across the semiconductor value chain. Combined with the advanced packaging capabilities emerging from the NSF Semiconductor Engine in Florida, the portfolio is positioned to help close the design‑to‑fabrication gap, reducing reliance on foreign nations to produce advanced chips originally designed in the U.S. Grid modernization and energy systems. NSF Engines in the Carolinas and Appalachia are focusing on utility‑scale transformers, grid hardware, and energy storage systems that can support energy‑intensive manufacturing and AI‑era electricity demand. Their work complements the battery technologies emerging from Cohort 1’s NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York, strengthening national capacity for more resilient energy systems. Biobased manufacturing and resilient agriculture. Two new biomanufacturing‑focused NSF Engines in Iowa/Nebraska and Tennessee/Alabama will strengthen domestic supply chains using American‑grown resources. By converting crops, grasses, and agricultural byproducts into higher‑value products and manufacturing jobs, these engines are positioned to build wealth in some of the nation’s most productive farming regions. They will be further supported by the AgTech solutions emerging from Cohort 1’s engine in North Dakota, which are being co-developed with local growers to improve crop resiliency and output. Next‑generation health technologies. A new NSF Engine in Indiana is advancing new treatments, devices, and diagnostics for musculoskeletal disorders, joining Cohort 1’s NSF Regenerative Medicine Engine in North Carolina in developing and deploying next‑generation health solutions. Together, these health technologies have the potential to improve quality of life for millions of Americans while building new markets at the intersection of medicine, technology, and advanced manufacturing. Water security and the blue economy. In New England, a new engine is bringing together the region’s tech sector and fishing communities to modernize boat-to-plate supply chains, reshore seafood processing, and strengthen America’s seafood competitiveness. With Cohort 1’s Great Lakes RENEW Engine’s efforts to accelerate contaminant removal and resource recovery technologies in the region’s waterways, engines are building the nation’s blue economy, expanding access to food and water while creating new, high‑quality jobs across coastal and freshwater communities.NSF’s investment into the new cohort of engines demonstrates a commitment to an industrial strategy that’s already showing results.
Since launching in 2024, the first nine NSF Engines have advanced more than 100 technologies, trained or hired nearly 17,000 Americans, and catalyzed more than $2 billion in private, state, and philanthropic co-investment – a more than 10x return on the federal government’s initial investment.
Cohort 2 is following in step. In several regions, state and industry co-commitments already exceed NSF awards, totaling over $1.3B across the twelve new engines. Over time, this expanded portfolio will continue to de-risk use-inspired research while crowding in private-sector scale-up capital, advancing technology development with greater speed and accountability.
At The Builder Platform, we are committed to continue standing alongside these regions, supporting the leaders doing the hard work to build resilient innovation networks, strengthen regional economies, and advance U.S. leadership in key industries. We will provide the tools, connections, and lessons learned to help the new cohort of NSF Engines mature, sustain momentum, and succeed – so that the NSF Engine portfolio continues to deliver for the nation.
