Headwaters Hub

Lead Agency: Accelerate Montana  

State Served: Montana  

Applicant-Defined Region: Missoula and Bozeman MSAs, Kalispell and Butte–Silver Bow μSAs  

Core Technology Area: Smart photonic sensor systems  

Contact: Dr. Tim VanReken ([email protected]) 

Organizational Link: https://headwaterstechhub.com/

The Headwaters Hub, led by Accelerate Montana, is building a region-wide photonic product development supply chain spanning design, packaging, testing, and manufacturing of PICs and sensors. This Tech Hub will leverage regional assets—including a concentration of photonics companies and the diverse geographic landscape of western Montana—to become a global leader in smart, autonomous, photonic remote sensing technologies.  These technologies will address critical defense, resource management, and disaster prevention needs.  

EDA awarded this Tech Hub grant funding of approximately $41 million to : 

• Support final-stage testing of technologies by creating environmentally specific testbeds in rugged terrain, precision agriculture, and roadway settings;
• Increase career opportunities in related fields, utilizing skills-based approaches to train and place workers, and extending on-ramps to Native and rural students across educational levels to access careers in the smart-sensing industry;
• Establish undergraduate optics and photonics degrees in Montana to fill a critical training gap in the workforce; and

Expand infrastructure to design, build, and test photonic integrated circuits (PICs)  for customers in LIDAR, biosensing, and precision agriculture.

Additional Designations Earned in Region