Building on Continued Progress

BY GOVERNOR JOHN CARNEY

DELAWARE CELEBRATED a lot of good news in 2023, putting us in a position to build on our continued economic development success as we begin the new year.

I’m excited about the partnerships and investments that will bring jobs to Delaware, strengthen our communities, and preserve and protect our environment.

With our neighbors in Pennsylvania and South Jersey, we were successfully designated as a Hydrogen Hub by the Biden Administration. Notably, we were one of only seven Hydrogen Hubs chosen across the country. Hydrogen is a clean fuel of the future, and one of the ways we can pollute less. Delaware companies and institutions already have led on hydrogen and now will play a big role in the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub, or MACH2. Our region expects to receive a federal infusion of $750 million that will create thousands of jobs and show how hydrogen can be made, transported, and used in a real-world way.

Another significant federal win for Delaware will benefit the Port of Wilmington, where a $50 million Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grant will allow the Diamond State Port Corporation to expand the Port’s Edgemoor terminal.

That expansion project plan includes constructing a container yard featuring all-electric operations and a new truck gate to provide new cargo capacity. The plan will enhance cargo resiliency, reduce emissions, improve safety, and provide capacity at the existing Port of Wilmington.

For decades, jobs at the Port of Wilmington have been a gateway into the middle class for thousands of workers and their families— the kind of jobs our state and country were built on. This grant will help make the planned Edgemoor expansion a reality and bring new good-paying, full-time union jobs to Wilmington and the region.

Another area where we have seen impressive collaboration and funding partnerships make an impact is our work to expand broad band throughout the state. Our goal is to make Delaware the first state in the country to connect every home and business to high-speed internet within the next few years. If there is any state that can connect every home and business, it ought to be ours.

Families deserve high-quality internet for school, work, and entertainment. Businesses and employees need reliable high-speed internet to do their job every day. Delaware has successfully connected nearly 6,000 homes, businesses, and organizations to broadband in the last year.

In the last 12 months, the State and Comcast, Medicom, and Verizon worked diligently to make high-speed internet available for the first time to 5,859 homes and businesses, mainly in rural areas of the state. There are 372 locations remaining to be installed.

Our Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) has attracted businesses to the First State while helping established companies grow and new entrepre neurships take root.

In 2023, DPP helped new-to-Delaware company Agile Cold Storage choose Claymont for a $170 million facility that is bringing 130 new jobs to the state. DPP also supported expansions and spinoffs of established Delaware operations both large—Agilent Technologies, Evernorth’s Accredo Specialty Pharmacy, and Blindsight Delaware Enterprises—and small—Compact Membrane Systems, Fisher’s Popcorn, PCOnline’s EtailFlow, and RiKarbon. Those moves add almost 500 more jobs statewide.

All of that news adds up to a strong economy that draws businesses to locate and expand here and gives employees jobs to consider and career ladders to scale. A strong economy allows us to grow our tax base, stabilize our budget, and invest in programs to benefit all Delawareans.

We celebrated additional successes for businesses of all sizes with groundbreakings and plant expansions around the state. That included ribbon-cuttings for Advanced Materials Technology in Wilmington and Versogen in Newark.

Supporting some of our earliest-stage companies is our EDGE grant program, which remains an effective, competitive support initiative that has awarded $4.3 million to 70 promising small businesses in industries from renewable energy technology to fitness centers and restaurants since its launch in 2019. The DPP-led Startup302 pitch competition provides the opportunity for additional funding to tech-enabled Delaware ventures like 2023 winners Toivoa, College Essay App, and Rush Roto Studio.

All of that news adds up to a strong economy that draws businesses to locate and expand here and gives employees jobs to consider and career ladders to scale. A strong economy allows us to grow our tax base, stabilize our budget, and invest in programs to benefit all Delawareans.

In 2024, I am excited to watch these landmark developments take shape.

I look forward to building on the progress we have made and working with all of you to ensure a strong future for our state.