The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded $504 million in implementation funding to 12 of the 31 designated Tech Hubs on July 2, 2024. Spokane’s American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub was not among them. The other 19 designated hubs each received a $500,000 Consortium Accelerator Award, and EDA later opened another implementation-funding competition for those hubs. In July 2026, EDA named six hubs for a separate $169 million funding tranche; Spokane was not on that list either. The agency has not publicly explained Spokane’s non-selection in either round.
What the $504 million Tech Hub funding covered
The 2024 awards were for implementation projects, not a payment to every designated hub. EDA said it funded 52 projects across 12 hubs. In the same announcement, the remaining 19 designated hubs were each offered $500,000 Consortium Accelerator Awards to advance their strategies and attract investment. EDA’s July 2, 2024 announcement describes the split.
EDA’s later FY 2025 notice says all 31 designated hubs applied in the 2024 Phase 2 competition, seeking $2 billion across 183 proposed projects. The $504 million funded 52 projects across 12 hubs; the $2 billion figure represents what applicants sought, not money awarded to each hub. The FY 2025 notice records these figures.
Did Spokane’s Tech Hub get federal support?
Spokane’s consortium was designated as a Tech Hub, but designation was not a guarantee of implementation funding. EDA’s FY 2025 notice says hubs that did not receive implementation funding in 2024—including Spokane’s—remained eligible to compete in a follow-on opportunity. The 2024 accelerator awards were a separate form of support, intended to help the 19 hubs develop their strategies and attract investment. The official materials do not establish whether Spokane ultimately received or spent its accelerator award.
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EDA’s profile identifies the hub as the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub. Its lead organization is the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center, and its designated region covers the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene metropolitan statistical areas. EDA’s hub profile lists those details.
What Spokane’s aerospace materials hub planned to build
The hub’s stated strategy centered on advanced composite aerostructures: lightweight aircraft structures and components made from engineered materials. EDA describes plans to develop domestic supply chains and demonstrate higher-rate manufacturing methods for thermoplastic composites. The intended applications include aircraft parts such as ribs, beams, and doors, serving both defense and commercial aerospace markets. These were proposed goals, not evidence that the capabilities or jobs were delivered.
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When EDA announced the designation on July 2, 2024, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo called it an endorsement of the region’s plan. Castillo said she was “thrilled to visit Spokane to see firsthand how this Hub is not only bolstering America’s competitiveness but will ultimately ensure the industries and jobs of the future start, grow, and remain in eastern Washington.” The designation announcement contains the quote.
What happened in the later funding round?
On July 20, 2026, EDA announced its intent to award $169 million across six selected hubs: Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in Virginia; Bloch Quantum in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin; Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy in Missouri; Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing in Maine; Intermountain-West Nuclear Energy Corridor in Idaho and Wyoming; and Kansas City BioSecure Manufacturing in Kansas and Missouri. Spokane was not named. EDA’s wording was that it “intends to award” the funds, so the announcement establishes selections and intent—not that final grant agreements or payments were completed. EDA’s July 20, 2026 announcement lists the selected hubs.
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Why was Spokane not selected?
EDA’s published materials do not give a Spokane-specific reason, reviewer score, or comparative ranking for either implementation round. The FY 2025 notice describes a staged competition that assessed both the consortium and its proposed component projects. Relevant considerations included the technology and project portfolio, the regional consortium and private-sector participation, commitments and matching support, and project-level merit review. Those program criteria explain how proposals were evaluated generally; they do not establish why Spokane was not selected.
That distinction matters when comparing regions: the 2024 competition involved 31 hubs seeking far more than the funding available, and awards were made to selected projects within 12 hubs. Without a published Spokane score or explanation, claims that its application was weak, politically disfavored, or ranked below a particular region are not supported by EDA’s public record.
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How to read the program’s larger funding figures
EDA’s program overview says the Tech Hubs program was authorized to receive $10 billion over five years, while approximately $1 billion had been appropriated when the page was accessed October 8, 2026. Authorization is not the same as an appropriation or an award: the $10 billion figure does not mean the program had received or distributed that amount. Because appropriations can change, treat the approximately $1 billion figure as the page’s status on that date. EDA’s program overview provides the funding context.
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