(The Center Square) – Quantum Tech Park in Arvada, Colorado, is receiving $63 million in government support.
The federal government provided it with a $41 million Economic Development Administration Tech Hub award; half of that money will go towards “critical equipment and capabilities to establish this site,” according to a press release from Governor Jared Polis. Additionally, the project will receive $22 million from the Tax Credits for Quantum Industry Support bill signed into law by Polis. The bill aims to turn $74 million in tax credits into $1 billion in economic activity.
The Colorado School of Mines purchased the site and is working with Elevate Quantum to grow Colorado’s quantum industry.
Governor Polis, Deputy Secretary Don Graves, and the Department of Commerce recently went to the groundbreaking ceremony for Quantum Tech Park. They hope the 70-acre site will create 10,000 new jobs in Colorado by 2030, 80% of which will lack an advanced degree requirement.
Others who attended the ceremony included: state representative Brittany Pettersen, Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, Colorado School of Mines President Paul Johnson, and leadership from the University of Colorado Boulder and Elevate Quantum.
“We aren’t wasting any time and are rolling up our sleeves and getting to work, ensuring Colorado’s leadership in quantum technology,” Governor Polis said. “Quantum technology is our future, and in Colorado, we are building what we need to support the quantum revolution. We’ve been very active both before and after earning the competitive federal TechHubs recognition, and with this new quantum park we are breaking ground on today, we are positioning Colorado as the global epicenter of the quantum industry.”
Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves expressed a similar sentiment.
“The Department of Commerce is focused on fostering the future of critical and emerging technologies like quantum and using innovative place-based economic strategies to spread its benefits to every corner of our country,” Graves said. “The Elevate Quantum Tech Hub is on the cutting edge of that mission and will help write the next chapter of Colorado’s economic prosperity.”
Furthermore, the release touted the park as being a key piece of the state’s future economic development.
“The park will support critical rapid prototyping, low-volume manufacturing, and workforce training,” a release said. “The park will also be an important resource for quantum companies that locate on-site, allowing them to get the ground lease into perpetuity, as well as access to state and local tax incentives for anything they build on the site.
“Colorado is at the center of one of the largest concentrations of quantum talent and assets in the U.S., positioning the park to help drive Colorado’s economy, create thousands of new jobs, and cement Colorado and the U.S. as a quantum epicenter,” it added.
