The U.S. Department of Defense has chosen Arizona State University to be among eight locations for a Microelectronics Commons regional innovation hub.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on Wednesday announced the award of $238 million to establish the hubs.

The money comes from the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act.

“This is the first major national security-oriented research and development laboratory ever built in the state of Arizona, and Arizona State University is extremely honored to play a key role in making this happen,” ASU President Michael Crow said.

Hicks said the project is “focused on bridging and accelerating the lab-to-fab transition, that infamous valley of death between R&D and production."

Arizona’s Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub, which has 27 members, will receive $39 million this fiscal year, according to a release.

With $2 billion in funding for fiscal years 2023-27, the program aims to leverage the hubs to accelerate domestic hardware prototyping and "lab-to-fab" transition of semiconductor technologies, the release stated.

Arizona Board of Regents Chair Fred DuVal said ASU’s hub will allow university researchers, students and industry partners “to rapidly scale new tech ideas and inventions to return the U.S. to its place as a leader in the high-tech industry.”

“Arizona has long been a trailblazer in the microelectronics industry, fueled by innovative higher education partners like Arizona State University," DuVal said.

"This extraordinary, first-of-its-kind laboratory demonstrates the importance of a strong public university system to the state’s economy and U.S. national security.”