< Previous46 MAY 2024 SITE SELECTION O ver the course of a year, researchers in Italy’s Sicilian region aim to revolutionize the ways in which industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) can provide a sustainable materials solution across global industries. Administered by the Sicily Rural Development Program comes an innovative new initiative in which fi ve municipalities — Caltanissetta, Catania, Messina, Palermo and Ragusa — will be locations for cultivating new hemp varieties, harvesting methods and technologies. is region’s coastal plains and river valleys uniquely position Sicily to support long-term hemp growth during prime spring and summer months. Known as “Canapa New Tech” or “New Tech Hemp,” the program, which runs from June through June , will be funded by both the European Union and the Sicilian Region and managed by innovative agricultural startup MillaSensi’s CEO Salvatore Zappalà, who has been intent on creating a sturdy hemp supply chain in Italy. Joining MillaSensi is a slew of agricultural and industrial companies, scientifi c researchers and institutions prepared to leverage their strengths. “My role will be that of a system integrator of the supply chain and its promoter,” says Zappalà. “In reality, everyone has a specifi c task, applying the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System to the best of our ability. Everyone — companies, transformers, universities and institutions — knows exactly what to do and how to do it. In short, unity is strength. Not to destroy, but to create and share.” Replicable Anywhere Used for hundreds of years for everything from durable paper to ropes, sails, clothing and textiles, hemp is reemerging as a sustainable solution for many green transition-focused countries around the world for uses such as biofuel, seed fl our, insulation, cloth, cosmetics and nutraceuticals. is program will explore how this by ALEXIS ELMORE alexis.elmore@siteselection.com A Global Test To Explore the Benefi ts of Hemp INDUSTRIAL HEMP Over 10,000 years ago the hemp plant was one of the fi rst to be used to produce fi ber. Photo by ArtistGNDPhotography: Getty Images SITE SELECTION MAY 2024 47 natural, recyclable material can be integrated within the construction, automotive, rail and aerospace industries, sometimes replacing or integrating with a petrochemical-based product. Zappalà says MilliSensi already possesses a technology capable of extracting hemp oil from the flower and seeds with water through hydro-distillation. Having all hands on deck is essential to the program’s success in order to spread the mindset of creating a better world for future generations and stepping away from practices that have damaged ecosystems and produced massive amounts of non- biodegradable waste. “So in this enormous chaos, if we find, as we are convinced we have found, a philosophical model of economic sustainability through everyday work and respecting the environment, this model is replicable anywhere,” says Zappalà. “Italy is the best country in the world to start a startup,” he says with a laugh. “But behind this joke there is an absolute truth: If it is born here and works, it can only be improved by offering it and customizing it to the world.” Hemp for a Reliable Future More than 5,000 miles from Sicily at the Mdewakanton Tribal Reservation in Southern Minnesota, the Lower Sioux Indian Community has spent years exploring ways in which hemp can serve as a reliable alternative to traditional construction materials. Earl Pendleton, who serves as the Lower Sioux Indian Community’s tribal treasurer, stumbled across an article around 12 years ago that detailed thousands of ways hemp could be used, leaving him stunned that the plant’s fibers could be used in the construction of homes. He found that hemp holds economic and environmental benefits that beat out conventional housing construction methods. Currently, the reservation is looking to add 100 to 150 new homes for its members. For the economic benefit to be felt, hemp needed to be produced in the state, rather than relying on importing it in from Europe or Canada. Now, after years of experimentation with growing hemp, efforts are paying off as the Lower Sioux Community is in the midst of construction on the first U.S. industrial hemp facility to grow, process and produce hempcrete. By the end of April 2024, the new 20,000-sq.- ft. manufacturing facility will be ready to begin production to address housing needs within the community. The project is supported by a $1.5 million grant awarded by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. “Now we’re finally nailed in on how to grow it,” says Pendleton. “Our processing equipment is operational, we have grant funding and put our own funding into building a facility where we’ll be able to house the processing equipment and construction materials in a production facility.” The final hempcrete product is nothing like traditional concrete. It’s more like insulation material, which Pendleton prefers to call hemplime. When combining fiber from the plant’s stem with a lime-based binder the bio-composite is born. “Hempcrete needs a structure,” says Pendleton. “You have something like wood-framed houses like we have here and the hempcrete will replace the wall system that’s typically in a house right now. It’s one material all the way through — there is no wall cavity like traditional houses have now, replacing the drywall that’s on the interior.” The material allows the community to cut costs associated with heating and cooling their homes by up to 70% due to the stronger insulatio, which also works to virtually soundproof the home. While the focus for Pendleton is taking care of the needs of the Lower Sioux community first, he sees the opportunity for this product to grow in the construction of apartments or hotels. “I think we have to prove the concept first,” he says. “If people outside of the community are interested, yeah, I think we have to look at ramping up our production and explore those routes. But right now, it’s just this proof of concept to get some really good housing here for the community members and see what happens next.” The Tribe itself has never been known for agriculture. In the 1800s, having pushed back on outside efforts to assimilate the Lower Sioux into farmers, the trade fell to the wayside. Now efforts are shifting to educating members and building skills to establish an agricultural industry, in turn creating dozens of new jobs. “We resisted,” says Pendleton, “but here’s our chance.” Photo by LUNAMARINA: Getty Images48 MAY 2024 SITE SELECTION Federal Pause on New LNG Export Terminals Doesn’t Mean Pause of Exports or Expansions Already Underway T he federal government early this year hit “pause” on further LNG export terminals in order to reconsider some aspects of the environmental review process. But that doesn’t mean the LNG exports that began in February 2016 have paused. That very same government’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a State of the Markets report in March 2024 that reported net exports of natural gas increased 21% from 2022 and represented 12.7% of total U.S. natural gas demand in 2023. “This increase was in part because additional FERC-authorized export liquefaction capacity increased from 11.2 Bcfd [billion cubic ft. per day] to 14.2 Bcfd during the year,” the FERC report said. Moreover, the growth of those exports supported pipeline construction throughout the country’s south-central region. “More than 43% of the pipeline capacity additions in the last five years are located in or connected to the South-Central region, and are largely designed to provide feedstock to LNG export terminals.” The United States exported 4.3 trillion cubic feet to 40 countries via vessels in 2023, with nearly two-thirds of total U.S. LNG volumes shipped to Europe. Data on the U.S. Department of Energy’s website show that during the month of January 2024 there were 156 LNG export events, 31 of them via smaller tank containers shipped from mostly Florida ports to destinations such as Haiti, Bahamas and Barbados, and 125 via LNG vessels sailing from U.S. LNG export terminals toward locations as diverse as Belgium, Turkey, Thailand, Lithuania, Brazil, China and Greece. The top suppliers by point of embarkation are listed on the chart to the left. “By 2030, the U.S. will have a total of 11 LNG export plants in operations,” says the Center for LNG, the Washington, D.C.-based industry association that’s part of the Natural Gas Supply Association. “The combined value of the LNG exported by these plants will reach $100 billion,” the Center says, citing a report from the Energy Policy Research Foundation (EPRF). That’s 3% of the entire U.S. trade balance. Without it, says the briefing, the August 2022 U.S. trade deficit would have been $72 billion, or 7.5% higher. “There is a shock going through the community of interest” since the announcement of the pause, Max Pyziur, director of research at the EPRF, tells Site Selection. Meanwhile, a number of LNG export terminal projects continue to move forward, including the three-train Rio Grande LNG Phase 1 project in Brownsville from NextDecade Corp., whose $18.4 billion financing is the largest greenfield energy project financing in U.S. history. The Texas LNG project in Brownsville also is in progress, as is Sempra Infrastructure’s Port Arthur LNG project. Sempra and Bechtel as of March 2024 had hired more than 1,000 construction and office staff since the FID. Bechtel also has more than 100 local vendors for the project, totaling more than $160 million in local contracts. by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com OIL & GAS COMPANY/ OPERATION LOCATION JANUARY 2024 SAILINGS Cheniere/Sabine Pass Liquefaction Sabine Pass, LA 39 Freeport LNG Expansion Freeport, TX 18 Cheniere Marketing Corpus Christi, TX 18 Venture Global Calcasieu Pass Cameron, LA 15 Cameron LNG Cameron, LA 12 Mitsui & Co./ Cameron LNG Cameron, LA 9 ST Cove Point & Gail Global Cove Point, MD 7 Shell NA/ Southern LNG Elba Island, GA 6 Cheniere’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction export terminal in Louisiana can accommodate three vessels. Photo courtesy of BechtelINVESTMENT PROFILE: PORTUGAL Lab to Fab Portugal’s innovation mindset cultivates a growing sweet spot for the global semiconductor industry. I t’s no coincidence that the global ecosystem of the $ billion semiconductor industry needs to be as fi nely tuned as the pathways etched on a microchip. Accordingly, as the industry is projected to grow by more than % in , there are many valuable roles to play and many pathways toward success. In a European marketplace surging on the power of the EU Chips Act and a wave of new corporate investment, Portugal’s performance is receiving rave reviews thus far. Micro- and nano-electronics enable the generation of at least % of European and global GDP, according to the European Semiconductor Industry Association, which confi rms that the R&D-intensive European semiconductor ecosystem supports approximately , jobs directly and up to million induced jobs in systems, applications and services in Europe. at ecosystem also welcomes talent from elsewhere to help fi ll occupational gaps in an industry that requires up to , new skilled workers in the next few years in response to corporate investments in the EU and the EU Chips Act’s target of doubling the EU’s share of the global market to % by . In November , the EU Commission proposed the EU Talent Pool to support the recruitment of job seekers from third countries in EU-wide shortage occupations. Is Portugal’s relative openness to international talent immigration a positive aspect of maintaining and growing semiconductor operations there? Celio Albuquerque certainly thinks so. “Yes, it is certainly a positive aspect for maintaining and growing operations there,” says Albuquerque, vice president of R&D Engineering for the Solutions Group at California-based Synopsys, a silicon-to-systems design fi rm with operations in Porto and Lisbon. “ is policy allows companies to attract and retain top talent from around the world, fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce that can drive innovation. It also helps to fi ll any skills gaps in the local workforce, ensuring that companies have the necessary expertise to grow and succeed. is is especially benefi cial for by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com SITE SELECTION MAY 2024 49 California-based Synopsys, which has operations in Lisbon and Porto, is working with global giant TSMC on integrating NVIDIA’s computational lithography platform “to accelerate manufacturing and push the limits of physics for the next generation of advanced semiconductor chips.” Photo courtesy of NVIDIAInfinera* IOBundle IPbloq MPS PETsysElectronics PowertoolsTechnologies Renesas Silicongate SiliconConcept Synopsys ATEP Amkor Critical Manufacturing Synopsys PICadvanced Nanopower(fabless) Porto Aveiro Setúbal Lisboa Chip designIP OSAT Manufacturing Photonics *PlansforexpansioninPICmarket KoalaTech EMEAElectro Solutions Portugal 50 MAY 2024 SITE SELECTION 50 MAY 2024 SITE SELECTION tech companies like Synopsys, which rely on highly skilled employees.” In business for more than years and based in the Silicon Valley community of Sunnyvale, Synopsys employs more than , people worldwide and reports annual revenues topping $. billion. e company is celebrating years in Portugal this year. “We established locations in Lisbon and Porto as part of our global expansion strategy to tap into Portugal’s growing technology sector,” Albuquerque says. “Our Portugal team includes members of our Design IP business, which is a growing segment of our business, providing pre-designed components that our semiconductor customers can incorporate into their products rather than designing those circuits themselves. What has kept the company in those locations over those years? Albuquerque says these factors distinguish the company’s Portugal operations from its other global sites, while also adding value to overall operations: Talent Pool: “Portugal has a high number of well-educated, skilled, and multilingual professionals, especially in the fi elds of engineering and technology. is provides Synopsys with a rich and diverse talent pool to recruit from.” Strategic Location: “Portugal’s strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas allows Synopsys to easily serve clients across these continents. Its position in the same time zone as the UK and Ireland also facilitates synchronous communication with European clients.” InnovationHub: “Portugal is becoming an increasingly important hub for technology and innovation, with an evolving startup ecosystem and a growing number of tech events and conferences. is vibrant tech scene fosters creativity and collaboration, which can benefi t Synopsys’ operations.” CostEffi ciency: “Operating costs in Portugal are generally lower than in many other European countries.” GovernmentSupport: “ e Portuguese government has been actively supporting the technology sector through various incentives.” QualityofLife: “Portugal off ers a high quality of life, with a pleasant climate, beautiful landscapes and a rich cultural heritage. is can help to attract and retain employees.” LanguageandCommunication Culture: “Many people in Portugal are fl uent in English, which makes it a culture that can interact easily with all corners of the world.” Critical Manufacturing, part of the ASMPT Group, develops sophisticated manufacturing extension systems (MES) for semiconductors in Porto and is listed in the Deloitte Technology Fast . Asked why the country makes sense for its operations, Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO and co-founder, tells Site Selection, “Portugal presents a strategic growth location for our company in the software for high-tech industries, including semiconductor, thanks to its exceptional blend of skilled technical talent, multilingual capabilities and cost-eff ectiveness. e country’s stable political climate and supportive regulatory environment, coupled with proactive initiatives by entities like AICEP Portugal, create an ideal ecosystem for innovation and business expansion. Portugal’s balance of economic advantages and a strong commitment to technological advancement aligns seamlessly with our vision for sustainable growth and global integration.” SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANIES IN PORTUGALFrom Upstart to Anchor: One Entrepreneur’s Story No one personifi es the Portuguese tech innovation and startup vibe better than Francisco Rodrigues, CEO of photonics fi rm PICadvanced (PIC stands for “photonic integrated circuits”). Founded in and based at PCI – Creative Science Park in Ílhavo alongside the University of Alveiro incubator, the company is developing optoelectronic transceivers for a new telecommunications network standard called NG-PON (Next- Generation Passive Optical Network ) and has received major backing from Verizon Ventures. It also has a new North America offi ce in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. e company, which has grown from an original pod of people to today (including engineers) and attained revenue of € million in , was ranked No. in Deloitte’s Fast ranking of Portugal startups last year, the same year Rodrigues was honored with EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year - Innovation Award. “PIC Technology Center of Excellence is part of a major project we are working on pushing forward,” Rodrigues says in an email, “which is to locate an Electronic and Photonic Entrepreneurship Hub in the Creative Science Park that would work as our headquarters while sharing space with advanced facilities with other existing or new photonics and electronics players.” Rodrigues says when PICadvanced started years ago, “the number of startups was already increasing and in these years new infrastructures and clusters were created in Portugal, fostering the environment for new technology companies backed up with new VC fi rms and major technology events in Portugal such as Web Summit, which helped to put Portugal in the spotlight of technology. For companies like PICadvanced that are deep tech and hardware related, more infrastructure and initiatives are required such as the excellence center we are putting together as well as VC funds further diversifi ed from software fi elds.” Other startups in the sector include SiliconGate, PETsys Electronics, Powertools Technologies, Koala Tech, IOBundle and IPblop. Rodrigues highlights Portugal’s newly released, four-year “National Strategy for Semiconductors,” which defi nes these lines of action: • “Strengthening specialized training and specifi c skills in the area of microelectronics and semiconductors, one of the key worldwide challenges that the sector faces at the moment; • “Expanding the national ecosystem for chip design and advanced packaging, areas where Portugal already has vast know-how and international presence; • “Increasing technology transfer in emerging areas, namely for photonic integrated circuits, co-integration of emerging technologies, fl exible and sustainable electronics and large-scale sensor manufacturing, promoting a ‘lab to fab’ approach.” PICadvanced is part of the microelectronics Portuguese agenda consortium and a fl agship company in Portugal in photonics and in the fi eld, alongside major players such as Synopsys, Monolithic Power Systems (which just opened a design center in Porto last September) and outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing services (OSAT) company AMKOR Technology Portugal. Located in Vila do Conde, ATEP Amkor has employees, of whom are engineers. e company in January launched a strategic European partnership with GlobalFoundries (GF) with a ribbon cutting. SinceFebruary , GF has transferred tools from its Dresden site to Amkor’s site near Porto. “ e new partnership between the two companies redefi nes the landscape of semiconductor manufacturing by enabling a fi rst comprehensive EU supply chain — from semiconductor wafer production at GF to OSAT services at Amkor,” Amkor announced. Overall, GF is transferring entire lines from Dresden to Amkor’s Porto plant “to establish the fi rst at-scale back-end facility in Europe.” Amkor also recently broke ground on a new factory expansion in Porto. “Amkor has more than years of automotive expertise and is IATF- certifi ed across seven countries around the world,” said Kevin Engel, Amkor’s executive vice president, Business Units. “Amkor brings the scale and expertise of its global advanced packaging footprint to this exciting collaboration. Our partnership with GlobalFoundries signals our common goal to stabilize a robust and resilient European automotive supply chain.” “GF Dresden is Europe’s largest and most advanced semiconductor manufacturer and Amkor is the only Tier OSAT in Europe,” said Dr. Manfred Hortsmann, GlobalFoundries’ senior vice president and general SITE SELECTION MAY 2024 51 SITE SELECTION MAY 2024 51 Francisco Rodrigues, PICadvanced CEO, holds a PIC sub-assembly. Photo courtesy of PICadvanced52 MAY 2024 SITE SELECTION manager European Fabs. “Together, we enable one of the most robust chip supply chains outside of Asia, creating a more resilient European supply chain for key end markets including automotive.” Examples of that automotive demand include Bosch (the largest consumer of chips in Portugal), BorgWarner and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Europe, the Daimler Truck-owned operation in Tramagal that celebrates its th anniversary this year. e automotive sector is responsible for almost .% of Portugal’s industry and .% of the production of the Portuguese economy, AICEP reports. e automotive components industry alone has grown by % over the past years and as of tallied around companies employing over , people, with % of its products exported. More to Come Asked how his fi rm aligns with the new national strategy, Rodrigues answers like someone who hovers between a wave and a particle: “On the one hand, PICadvanced through its innovative roadmap in photonic integration defi es the state of the art and places disruptive technology and building blocks in the market not only through physical products but also in terms of design/ simulation and packaging of PICs,” he says. “On the other hand, PICadvanced aligns with R&D centers and RTOs [research and technology organizations] of Portugal and Europe cooperating in research projects and national and international levels to develop groundbreaking technology.” Prominent among those RTOs is the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory in the northern Portugal city of Braga, home to personnel from countries engaged in nearly ongoing funded R&D projects, several of them in the semiconductor sector. Rodrigues describes AICEP as “a key organism in business development of companies, and PICadvanced is not an exception. e organization looks forward, making relevant connections in the defi ned markets and segments identifi ed in conjunction with the company and has been fully available to cooperate with PICadvanced since an early stage to ensure our success.” at includes helping fi nance two internationalization projects from PICadvanced to help it establish new markets and customers through activities such as trade shows. What’s next? Asked about Portugal ecosystem needs, Celio Albuquerque of Synopsys says the very presence of ecosystem enablers like Synopsys can also bring more semiconductor innovation and talent to the country. “Additionally,” he remarks, “the region can benefi t from ongoing workforce training and education, as well as a clear, supportive policy framework.” e country’s talent continues to be among its top assets, he reiterates, reinforced by programs such as the Synopsys Academic Research Alliance (SARA) with several universities, its own Academy program and a nationwide high school program called “Electronics for All.” “Synopsys continues to believe in the talent quality in Portugal,” Albuquerque says, “and it expects to continue nurturing and investing in our operations in both local offi ce locations, Porto and Lisbon.” This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of AICEP Portugal Global. For more information, please contact Mário Quina at mario.quina@portugalglobal.pt. e country’s stable political climate and supportive regulatory environment, coupled with proactive initiatives by entities like AICEP Portugal, create an ideal ecosystem for innovation and business expansion.” — Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO and Co-Founder, Critical Manufacturing e country’s stable y s. W hy should global rankings matter if the whole world is deglobalizing and reshoring? Because it’s possible they’re not doing that at all — at least, not yet. “ e world is at a record high level of globalization despite geopolitical confl ict and policy headwinds,” said Steven Altman at a March press conference announcing the results of by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com WORLD RANKINGS GLOBAL BEST TO INVEST TOP 10 METROS OVERALL 1. SOUTH KOREA SEOUL Invest Seoul www.investseoul.org/eng/mainPage.do 2. CHINA SHANGHAI Invest Shanghai www.investsh.org.cn/en/index 3. AUSTRALIA SYDNEY Investment NSW www.investment.nsw.gov.au 4. GERMANY BERLIN/BRANDENBURG Berlin Partner www.berlin-partner.de/en 5. NETHERLANDS AMSTERDAM I Amsterdam www.iamsterdam.com/en/business 6. INDIA MUMBAI Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation www.midcindia.org 7. FRANCE PARIS Choose Paris Region www.chooseparisregion.org 8. BRAZIL SÃO PAULO Investe São Paulo www.en.investe.sp.gov.br TOP 10 COUNTRIES 1. UNITED STATES SelectUSA www.trade.gov/selectusa-home 2. UNITED KINGDOM UK Department of International Trade www.great.gov.uk 3. GERMANY Germany Trade & Invest www.gtai.de/en/invest 4. CANADA Invest in Canada investcanada.ca 5. IRELAND IDA Ireland www.idaireland.com 6. AUSTRALIA Australian Trade & Investment Commission www.austrade.gov.au/ International/invest 7. SWEDEN Business Sweden www.business-sweden.com 8. FRANCE Invest in France investinfrance.fr 9. SOUTH KOREA Invest Korea www.investkorea.org 10. DENMARK Invest in Denmark investindk.com 9. SWEDEN STOCKHOLM Invest Stockholm www.stockholmbusinessregion.com 10. SWITZERLAND ZURICH Greater Zurich Area Ltd. www.greaterzuricharea.com/en TOP 10 COUNTRIES PER CAPITA 1. IRELAND 2. UNITED STATES 3. CANADA 4. SWEDEN 5. UNITED KINGDOM 6. AUSTRALIA 7. DENMARK 8. GERMANY 9. FINLAND Business Finland www.businessfi nland.com 10. LUXEMBOURG Luxembourg Trade & Invest www.tradeandinvest.lu SITE SELECTION MAY 2024 53 (continued on p. )54 MAY 2024 SITE SELECTION WESTERN EUROPE TOP 5 COUNTRIES 1. IRELAND IDA Ireland www.idaireland.com 2. UNITED KINGDOM UK Department for Business & Trade www.great.gov.uk/international 3. GERMANY Germany Trade & Invest www.gtai.de/en/invest 4. SWEDEN Business Sweden www.business-sweden.com 5. FRANCE Invest In France investinfrance.fr TOP 5 METROS 1. GERMANY BERLIN/BRANDENBURG Berlin Partner www.berlin-partner.de/en 2. NETHERLANDS AMSTERDAM I Amsterdam www.iamsterdam.com/en/business 3. FRANCE PARIS Greater Paris Investment Agency gp-investment-agency.com 4. SWEDEN STOCKHOLM Invest Stockholm www.stockholmbusinessregion.com 5. SWITZERLAND ZURICH Greater Zurich Area Ltd. www.greaterzuricharea.com/en ASIA PACIFIC TOP 5 COUNTRIES 1. AUSTRALIA Australian Trade & Investment Commission www.austrade.gov.au 2. SOUTH KOREA Invest Korea www.investkorea.org/ik-en/index.do 3. SINGAPORE Singapore Economic Development Board www.edb.gov.sg 4. JAPAN Invest Japan www.jetro.go.jp/en/invest 5. NEW ZEALAND New Zealand Trade & Enterprise www.nzte.govt.nz TOP 5 METROS 1. SOUTH KOREA SEOUL Invest Seoul www.investseoul.org/eng/mainPage.do 2. CHINA SHANGHAI Invest Shanghai www.investsh.org.cn/en/index 3. AUSTRALIA SYDNEY Investment NSW www.investment.nsw.gov.au 4. INDIA MUMBAI Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation www.midcindia.org 5. CHINA BEIJING Invest Beijing / Beijing Investment Promotion Service Center invest.beijing.gov.cn/englishNext >