State awards Binghamton University $20M for N.Y. node of national advanced manufacturing initiative

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — Binghamton University will use $20 million in state funding as the home of the New York node in the new NextFlex Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute.

The institute is part of the “National Network for Manufacturing Innovation” program, an initiative of the Obama administration to support advanced manufacturing in the U.S.

The state’s $20 million commitment will support the retrofitting of space in the former IBM facility in Endicott, along with specific projects and new businesses that will be utilizing the space.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced the funding during an appearance in Endicott. His office later issued a news release about the announcement.

The state expects up to 200 academic and private-sector jobs to be generated during the program’s first year, with the potential for the creation of up to 1,000 new jobs over the five years of the Flex Tech Alliance Program, Cuomo’s office said.

The funding award represents the first allocation from the Southern Tier’s $500 million award from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2015 statewide business competition. The award also matches a federal National Manufacturing Innovation Institute award that the U.S. Department of Defense announced last year.

With the $20 million award from the Defense Department, the total federal award is $75 million over five years. The effort has already attracted nearly $100 million in matching funds and additional support from non-federal sources, private companies, academia, not-for-profit organizations, and several states.

Binghamton University’s role
The Department of Defense chose the FlexTech Alliance to establish “NextFlex” as the nation’s first Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute.

Binghamton University is a founding proposal partner of the FlexTech Alliance, according to the release.

New York state played a “critical” role in the “successful” proposal, pledging up to $20 million in matching funds to support and strengthen the FlexTech proposal, Cuomo’s office said.

The funding will help Binghamton University retrofit space at the Huron Campus in Endicott, enabling the university to attract companies like GE Global Research, Corning, Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT), and i3 Electronics to conduct research and development and create jobs in the Southern Tier, instead of outside New York.

The state will disburse the $20 million over the five-year period of the NextFlex program and will support specific Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute projects “as they come to fruition.”

Flexible electronics uses both traditional chips and printed electronics on plastic, thin glass, paper, and fabric materials that can bend.

The technology has a range of applications, including health-monitoring patches, medical devices, sensors, imaging systems, prosthetic devices, energy storage, and energy harvesting devices.

The Flex Tech Alliance and Binghamton University have been leaders in the advancement of flexible-electronics manufacturing for “nearly a decade,” Harvey Stenger president of Binghamton University, contended in the governor’s news release.

“This latest news is an extraordinary affirmation of the work being done by the Alliance and of the work being done by our own researchers here on campus. We want to thank our federal representatives, Sen. Schumer, Sen. Gillibrand, and Congressman Hanna for their support on this federal initiative. We also want to thank Gov. Cuomo and our state officials for supporting the $20 million New York State matching funds that were crucial to making the FlexTech application stronger and more competitive.”

Stenger is also co-chair of the Southern Tier regional economic-development council.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com