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The Applied Research Institute in Bloomington plans to locate the headquarters for Heartland BioWorks at the 16 Tech Innovation District in downtown Indianapolis, the institute announced Monday.
Heartland BioWorks was designated as a federal technology hub by the U.S. Department of Commerce in October 2023 to support growth in biomanufacturing innovation and workforce development.
The two-story, 20,000-square-foot facility at 16 Tech is being designed to serve not only as the hub’s headquarters but also a workforce training and innovation center, ARI said.
The facility is being supported by funding from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, as well as an additional $6 million investment from Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. However, the total cost of the project was not immediately disclosed.
ARI said the headquarters will include state-of-the-art classroom, benchtop, and pilot-scale infrastructure to provide hands-on training and upskilling opportunities to grow the biomanufacturing workforce in Indiana.
“The Heartland BioWorks headquarters represents a national commitment to uniting human capital, research capabilities, and industrial capacity across the life sciences to secure America’s leadership in biotechnology and biomanufacturing,” ARI CEO Andrew Kossack said in a news release. “ARI is proud to lead this effort to ensure Indiana’s unique assets strengthen our nation’s competitive edge in this critical field.”
Construction is expected to start on the project early next year and the facility is expected to open in early 2027, according to Emily Krueger, president and CEO of 16 Tech.
Heartland BioWorks was selected in July 2024 to receive $51 million in federal CHIPS and Science Act funding to kick-start its workforce development and startup support initiatives.
“When I helped author and pass the CHIPS and Science Act, this is the kind of national impact I envisioned,” U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-IN, said in written remarks. “Heartland BioWorks is proving that the Midwest can lead the next generation of American innovation, by developing the talent, technology, and partnerships needed to secure our nation’s economic and biosciences future.”
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