Commerce Signs Letters of Intent for Up to $389 Million in Power-Semiconductor R&D
Four nonbinding CHIPS R&D letters of intent would support domestic power-semiconductor and materials work for fusion, data centers and the grid.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced four letters of intent on October 22 for up to $389 million in CHIPS research-and-development awards focused on power semiconductors and critical materials. The proposed work spans high-voltage devices for fusion systems, radio-frequency plasma heating and diagnostics, vertical gallium-nitride devices for advanced computing, and ultra-high-purity quartz processing.
The contemplated allocations are up to $175 million for Helion, $85 million for Commonwealth Fusion Systems, $73 million for Vertical Semiconductor and $56 million for Sibelco. Vertical Semiconductor’s project includes a planned demonstration tied to a 2.5-megawatt advanced-computing rack. Commerce said the final awards would support domestic R&D serving grid, data-center, defense and fusion applications.
These amounts are not closed grants. The announcement describes letters of intent, and final awards remain subject to later agreements and conditions. Commerce also said it would receive a minority, non-controlling and non-voting equity interest in each company as a condition of the awards.
Official source: National Institute of Standards and Technology announcement, October 22, 2026. Source reviewed October 24, 2026.