Gov. Dan McKee, chair of the Rhode Island Commerce Board, has announced $8 million in incentives to support business growth, job creation and innovation, including $6.2 million in tax credits for Raytheon to create 150 new jobs at its Portsmouth facility.
“Every new job and innovative idea brought to market strengthens our economy and creates new opportunities for Rhode Islanders,” McKee said. “By investing in companies like Raytheon that are expanding, creating good-paying jobs, and developing the next generation of products, we’re helping build a more competitive and resilient economy.”
Through the board’s Qualified Jobs Tax Credit Program, a total of $7,707,358 was awarded to support the creation of 239 jobs over the next 10 years.
Raytheon, an RTX business, will receive an estimated $6,213,084 in tax credits over 10 years to create 150 new jobs. The credits support a $100 million expansion the company announced in June at its Portsmouth facility, where it currently employs 724 people. The expansion will accelerate the testing of Raytheon’s next-generation Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, a radar designed to defeat advanced threats including hypersonic weapons, and increase production of subcomponents for the Patriot GEM-T missile to meet growing global demand.
“We are pleased to support Raytheon’s significant expansion in our state,” said Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor. “The expansion involves the testing of Raytheon’s next-generation air and missile defense system as well as the production of missile subcomponents. Thank you, Raytheon, for choosing Rhode Island.”
RTX businesses have operated in Rhode Island for more than 60 years, and the company has said its Portsmouth campus plays a role supporting undersea technology, combat systems and radars. Raytheon is under contract for multiple LTAMDS radars for the U.S. Army and Poland.
Two other companies received job tax credits. Ace Endico Corporation, a New York-based specialty food distributor that currently employs 80 people at its Woonsocket hub, will receive an estimated $968,319 over 10 years to create 72 jobs at a planned distribution facility in West Greenwich. Social Sparks, a Rhode Island-based behavioral health practice with facilities in Lincoln and South Kingstown, will receive an estimated $525,955 over 10 years to create 17 jobs.
The board also awarded four Innovation Vouchers totaling $299,650. The grants fund research and development conducted with a local “knowledge provider,” such as a college or research institution, or in-house by a manufacturer. The recipients were Elephant Therapeutics, which is developing a potential Alzheimer’s drug in partnership with Brown University; EQLabs, which will test a lab AI platform with Brown’s Darling Lab; Lilac Biosciences, a Brown spinout developing RNA measurement technology; and Ropeless Systems, which is developing fishing methods to prevent whale entanglements, drawing on the University of Rhode Island’s marine fisheries research vessel.
“Today’s investments are contributing to the continued growth of businesses, jobs, and innovation across key sectors in Rhode Island,” Pryor said. “From defense and manufacturing to health and life sciences, we are helping catalyze companies’ choices in favor of Rhode Island.”
Applications for the next round of Innovation Vouchers are being accepted through 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21. More information is available through Rhode Island Commerce.
