The Department of Commerce has announced that Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Alejandra Y. Castillo, will visit the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub in Spokane, Washington. The visit has been organized under the Biden-Harris Administration and the Economic Development Administration (EDA), which had previously designated the Tech Hub as a Regional Technology and Innovation Hub (Tech Hubs) in October 2023.
Castillo’s trip to the Tech Hub aims to emphasize the region’s emerging global leadership in the production of next-generation lightweight aircraft. The assistant secretary, along with Tech Hubs Program Director Eric Smith, will be there to assist the Hub in enhancing their strategy to fulfill both immediate and future demands of the defense and commercial aerospace markets. The broader goal is to promote more sustainable air travel and advance a technology sector crucial to U.S. national security.
The Tech Hubs Program is an initiative focused on advancing U.S. leadership in critical technologies and industries. The American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub’s designation acknowledges the region’s plan to boost its critical technology ecosystem and rise as a global aerospace leader, enhancing U.S. national security and global competitiveness.
Secretary Raimondo expressed support, stating the Tech Hub “embodies the spirit and potential of the Tech Hubs program.” She further stated the Program is essential to ensuring tech industries vital to U.S. economic and national security are established, sustained, and expanded within the U.S.
Assistant Secretary Castillo commended the Tech Hubs as “place-based economic development strategies at their best,” and expressed her excitement about witnessing firsthand the Spokane Hub’s contribution to American competitiveness. The Tech Hubs Program, funded with $10 billion authorized in the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, aims to accelerate the rate at which Americans innovate, create new companies, and generate good jobs.
More information about the Tech Hubs Program can be found at TechHubs.gov.
