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USG Funding Meetings in D.C. on 10/27

USG Funding Meetings in D.C. on 10/27

by Eric · 69 things on Twos

[These are EGK’s notes of the meetings; however, it wasn’t made clear to me beforehand that I was the “scribe” (vs. McKeon), so they may not be complete.]
Meeting with Dr. Michienzi, CTO to the Assistant SOD for Industrial Base Policy, at Pentagon (on phone were Matt Kay, ? …):
[NH presented]
Dr. M acknowledged need for packages
First topic was HDBU
Re IBAS, need to get with Adelle Ratcliff, who has $ now for “secure packaging”; Matt Walsh and Donna Joyce are also key; work with Mr. James (?) who works with Ms. Ratcliff; Dr. M will connect us with the attendees on the phone
Dr. M acknowledged the significant gap associated with organic substrates
Dr. M stated that the DOD’s aggregated demand is unknown as the service arms essentially operate as silos
Mr. Kay asked whether the SD ceramic capabilities (re line spacing and pitch, 2-3 tier packages) are not equivalent to what is in Japan in terms of yield and maturity? NH said we have a new line that is SOTA installed 1 year ago; as such, SD’s capabilities equal those of Japan; it was agreed to take this discussion off-line
NH stated that KII’s intention is a copy exact line
Second topic was rad hard and an investment to expand SD’s current line to establish capacity
There was discussion regarding 50 micron spacing for this line
NH was asked whether we do classified work with a separate organization; Dr. M stated there is “significant demand” for such work
Dr. M talked about the possibility of a Corporate Research and Development Agreement, by which KII could get sponsored for such work for secure packaging capabilities
NH asked about other funding sources for KII’s requests; Dr. M suggested 4: 1) IBAS (which she described as “front end”); 2) DPA III (which she describes as “product level”); 3) CHIPS Act; and 4) Steampipe, which is associated with NSTL (?); both IBAS and DPA III have inherent assumptions of cost sharing by KII
There was discussion regarding the DPA III white paper; Dr. Kay (?) asked whether KII has submitted a DPA III white paper for rad hard; NH said KII has, which is not correct; however, we were able to clarify this in the meeting; KII is committed to submitting the paper in the near future
KII was encouraged to emphasize it’s support of the DOD first, followed by added support for commercial market; Dr. M liked that KII’s priority is to support the DOD first, commercial market second
The RFP for rad hard is still expected in November
The DOC will be releasing info re CA funding in the near future
Set up meeting with Adelle Ratcliff!
Meeting with Anderson Helton, Legislative Fellow, Sebastian Paez, Research Assistant, and Andrew Bichlmeier, Legislative Fellow, all Senator Wicker (R- MI, RM on Commerce and Technology, SASC) staffers
[NH presented]
Acknowledged that solving the problem of over-dependence on Asia for chips will not solve the problem of complete dependence on Asia for packages; this is a critical issue
They were unfamiliar with the IPC report, which we should send (Note: we should send to all as a matter of routine follow-up)
They committed to connecting us with right people in DOC; they also will look into getting KII a spot on the CA committee
Others to potentially contact for support include: 1) Dan Cheever, LA in Todd Young’s office; 2) Senator Cantwell’s team (which sometimes proves to be unresponsive); 3) and Senator Cruz’s office, as he’s on the Commerce Committee (in particular, Duncan Rankin (?)); they can all potentially help with the Commerce Committee
They asked about KII’s $91M ask for HDBU and whether KII is willing to cost share
They suggested trying to approach Undersecretary La Plant may not make the most sense and that the people under him would be better contacts for topic such as munitions, chips/packages and rare earth minerals
Meeting with Michael McKay, who is on Representative Calvert’s (R- __, RM on DOD Appropriations) staff
[NH presented]
Mr. McKay asked whether KII is seeking $ through IBAS; he noted that the key person for such funding is Adelle Ratcliff
He acknowledged that packaging needs to be on shored and Calvert supports this initiative
He suggested focusing on current PEs and the people running them, as such $ is already appropriated
Focus on the PE program managers and defense appropriations bills
He analogized the packaging situation to that of the rare earth minerals situation and suggested we familiarize ourselves on how the latter issue has been addressed
KII offered to host a visit by Rep Calvert
Meeting with Justin Schardin (LA), Jenna XX (Team Defense/Defense Appropriations) and Charlie XX (Economic Analyst) of Senator Feinstein’s (D-CA) staff
[NH presented]
NH discussed the differences between ceramic and organic packages and that shrinking chips are forcing the organic path
The team seemed more engaged and were interested in visiting KII
They were unfamiliar with the IPC report and KII should send (Note: this should happen as matter of course)
NH mentioned that only .01% of demand for packages is military related
They asked whether KII understood that any funding would likely require an investment from KII as this is a public/private opportunity; KII said it understood this and NH outlined what we would invest; NH made the point that Dr. Honey mentioned that DOD thinks that foreign “partnerships” are necessary (??)
They suggested reviewing Chips.gov and connecting with the people behind it
When asked about other funding routes, they suggested IBAS for equipment and DPA III; they offered to give support letters, as necessary
Regarding jobs, NH mentioned the plan is to move current, highly skilled workers into organic and back fill, as necessary
They mentioned that on the appropriations side, certain PEs may be applicable now; they asked us to share info re any PEs we’re familiar with
NH mentioned the rad hard request as well, which is intended to buy equipment to increase capacity, which also supports the DOD
KII action item: to let this team know what to put into a letter to support KII in the DOC
Meeting with Evan Viau of Representative McMorris Roger’s (R-__, RM on Energy and Commerce) staff
[NH presented]
Evan conceded he’s the wrong person for DOC purposes but will connect us with the right people (out of town)
He is the right person re E & C and will support KII here
NH mentioned we have the technology (some of which came from IBM) and we’re ready to transfer it if we can get funding
Evan mentioned subcommittees at DOC and certain people associated with them including: 1) Consumer Protection and Commerce (?) - Tim Kirth (?) and Brandon Raus (?); and 2) Science (no name).
Evan mentioned Senator Shumer’s SB 1571 as a source of funding?; need to look into this
He questioned the “allocation” of any investment between USG funds and KII; NH mentioned a $91M/$31M “split”
He mentioned contacting Peter Spencer on the Energy team who is interested in organic packages for supercomputers
Meeting with Adam Taylor, MLA of Representative Peters’ (D-CA) staff
[NH presented]
Adam had questions about how much money KII was requesting; when $91M was mentioned, he reacted it is a big ask; however, when it was mentioned that the CA has $5B for packaging alone, he seemed better with the amount
He asked about KII’s investment for HDBU and NH mentioned $30M; NH mentioned there’s a 2-year backlog for equipment
To Adam’s related question, NH mentioned that the “sustainment” amounts include training for labor
To Adam’s related question, NH mentioned that if KII established the HDBU line, KII could have prototypes after 14 months, volume production in 3 years
In terms of people to connect with, Adam mentioned IBAS, Dr. Honey, Dr. Shenoy, and Dr. Michienzi
He said he would be willing to support letters of recommendation for DPA III, and with individual PEs
When NH mentioned others had mentioned Adelle Ratcliff, Adam said she’s a “rock star,” that he’s had prior conversations with her and she was unusually willing to speak with him, and that he would be happy to connect us with her
He was open to a visit and getting Congressman Peters to visit as well.
There was no meeting with Zac Cummins of Senator Padilla’s (D-CA) staff