Copyright berkshireeagle
PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Innovation Center is planning to grow again — this time with a new high-tech partner — and it is asking for the city’s support to help make it happen. The Berkshire Innovation Center is seeking $500,000 from the city’s Economic Development Fund to help finance a planned 7,000-square-foot expansion that would house a new advanced optics manufacturing lab. The expansion is being developed in partnership with Myrias Optics, a UMass Amherst–born startup that specializes in advanced metalens manufacturing, and Electromagnetic Applications (EMA), which already operates at the BIC. Together, the organizations hope to establish the facility as a regional Tech Hub for advanced optical manufacturing, research and workforce training. “Building on the BIC's role as a regional anchor for advanced manufacturing, the Tech Hub will propel the regional ecosystem by focusing on the next generation of meta-optics manufacturing, commercialization, and workforce development,” wrote Justine Dodds, the city’s director of community development in the request. “The Tech Hub aims to make Western Massachusetts a national leader in the design, testing, and production of ultra-compact, high-performance optical components.” The project — known as the Advanced Manufacturing for Advanced Optics Tech Hub — would expand the Innovation Center’s existing facility. The two-story addition would include a clean room and equipment for nanoimprint lithography — a fabrication method used to produce ultrathin “metalenses,” an emerging technology that could revolutionize imaging, radar and medical devices, according to the proposal. Economic modeling by the UMass Donahue Institute projects the initiative could generate over 1,300 job-years — or one job for one year — between 2025 and 2031, launch six startups and train over 100 students and workers in optics-related fields. With funding already secured from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the MassTech Collaborative and private industry partners, the BIC is seeking $7 million from the state and the $500,000 from the city to fill the gap. The expansion would allow Myrias Optics to relocate its metalens production from Austria to the William Stanley Business Park. To support the move, the startup is seeking $500,000 in city economic development funds. The company plans to bring manufacturing fully domestic, using NIL technology to produce high-performance optical devices more efficiently and at a fraction of the cost of traditional semiconductor fabrication. The proposed funding for Myrias would be distributed in three phases, reliant on on job creation milestones — beginning with the signing of a 10-year lease and the hiring of 10 full-time employees earning at least $65,000 annually, and increasing as the company expands to 30 positions by 2029. Myrias has projected it will grow from 10 to 55 employees by 2028, with average salaries exceeding $110,000, and increase annual revenue from $1 million to $33.7 million. The company is expected to contribute about $10 million in capital operating expenses over three years, alongside an additional $10 million investment in equipment and buildout shared with the BIC and EMA. A recent $5 million grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative also supports the broader initiative to strengthen advanced manufacturing capabilities and university partnerships in optics across the state. In addition to job creation, Myrias has pledged to contribute to local workforce development, mentoring startups, hosting pitch events and offering internships and educational programming in partnership with area colleges and the BIC.
