{"id":114065,"date":"2026-02-14T16:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T16:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/114065\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T16:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T16:27:08","slug":"ben-franklin-techventures-4-8m-federal-investment-expands-bethlehem-tech-lab-capacity-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/114065\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Franklin TechVentures: $4.8M federal investment expands Bethlehem tech lab capacity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania<\/a> will expand its Bethlehem innovation center with $4.8 million in federal funding approved through the fiscal 2026 appropriations process.<\/p>\n

The state-supported economic development organization on Tuesday announced the investment in the TechVentures facility at 116 Research Drive, on Lehigh University\u2019s Mountaintop Campus.<\/p>\n

It will convert more than 10,000 square feet at TechVentures into wet labs and electronics labs, increasing the center\u2019s laboratory capacity by over 50%. <\/p>\n

The expansion targets early stage companies working in life sciences, microelectronics and areas where the two fields intersect, including medical imaging, advanced materials, photonics and semiconductor design.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick publicly listed the project as part of more than $270 million in federal funding secured through appropriations for Pennsylvania<\/a> initiatives.<\/p>\n

The 129,000-square-foot TechVentures center provides specialized space and business support for technology startups. Angelo J. Valletta, president and CEO of Ben Franklin Northeast, said the expansion addresses high demand from companies that need laboratory infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen startups are ready to grow, access to specialized lab space can be the difference between delaying progress and accelerating commercialization,\u201d Valletta said. \u201cThis investment is a big step forward for Northeastern Pennsylvania\u2019s innovation economy. It helps us refresh and modernize the infrastructure entrepreneurs rely on, retain high-potential companies as they scale here in Pennsylvania, and reimagine how we support founders working at the intersection of life sciences and microelectronics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Franklin Northeast is an economic development organization that provides investment capital and business support to startups, manufacturers, and business incubators across a 21-county region in northeastern Pennsylvania. The organization is part of a statewide network of four independent nonprofits with locations in Bethlehem, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and State College.<\/p>\n

McCormick, R-Pa., said the appropriations funding for Pennsylvania supports public safety, infrastructure, education, healthcare, economic development and environmental restoration.<\/p>\n

Additional Lehigh Valley recipients of funding approved earlier this month by Congress<\/a> include:<\/p>\n

Army Corps of Engineers, awarded $1 million to replace stormwater pipes in Whitehall Township.Bethlehem Police Department, receiving $700,000 to purchase public safety technology and equipment.Lehigh-Carbon Community College, receiving $463,000 to upgrade the mechatronics lab and create a new robotics lab.Lehigh County, awarded $500,000 to purchase radio and public safety communications equipment for law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis funding delivers real results for Pennsylvanians,\u201d McCormick stated. \u201cIt helps communities advance important projects and ensures taxpayer dollars are put to work where they are needed most.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania will expand its Bethlehem innovation center with $4.8 million in federal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-114065","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}