Recent News and Funding Opportunities

AMO Awards $11.5 Million to 10 Small Business Research and Development Projects

On July 11, the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) announced the selection of 10 new projects that will receive $11.5 million in federal funding from DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research and development programs. Through the SBIR and STTR programs, AMO supports small business projects that improve energy efficiency, material productivity, and drive U.S. industrial decarbonization and competitiveness for American manufacturers. Learn more about the 10 selected projects.

DOE Issues Notice of Intent to Fund Applied Research and Development for Industrial Decarbonization

Decarbonizing industry is challenging, given the wide range of energy inputs and complexity of industrial processes. DOE recently announced its intent to issue a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) that will support research, development, and pilot-scale demonstration to help move the U.S. industrial sector toward a net-zero future. DOE's new FOA will support the advancement of a range of decarbonization technologies that can shrink the carbon footprint of America’s vital industries. Read more about the notice of intent.

DOE Awards $3 Million for 10 High Performance Computing Projects

On July 25, DOE announced $3 million in federal funding for 10 high performance computing projects that advance cutting edge manufacturing and clean energy technologies. As part of the High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) initiative, the selected project teams will work with the world’s most powerful supercomputers and U.S. National Laboratory experts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory to solve today’s toughest manufacturing challenges and explore new materials for clean energy application through state-of-the-art modeling, simulation, and data analysis. Learn more about the selected projects.

Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program Announces New Group of Clean Energy Innovators

DOE recently announced the newest group of fellows selected for its Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program. The Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program equips the nation’s brightest scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs with the training, technical resources, and support they need to move their clean energy innovations out of the lab and into the marketplace. The selected innovators will tap into an extensive network of mentors and experts at the U.S. National Laboratories to develop next-generation technologies that will help power a clean energy future that benefits all Americans. Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program sites include Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory; Cyclotron Road at Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory; Innovation Crossroads at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and West Gate at National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

DOE Announces $10 Million for Renewably Supplied District Energy Systems and Regional Smart Manufacturing Pilot Initiatives

On July 19, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $10 million to six projects that will support the development and adoption of clean-energy technologies and advanced energy-efficiency measures in American industry. Three awardees will develop renewably supplied district energy systems, which can provide multiple buildings with heating or cooling from a central plant. Three additional awardees will establish regional smart-manufacturing pilot initiatives, offering technical assistance on the implementation of smart-manufacturing technologies and structured energy-management systems. Major energy consumers, including manufacturers, can improve their energy efficiency, curb their carbon emissions, and bolster their global competitiveness by deploying renewably supplied district energy systems and integrating smart manufacturing technologies into their energy-management practices. Learn more about the awardees and their projects.

 

Highlights

Energy Efficient Manufacturing of Extraordinary Materials Success Story

In 2019, AMO awarded Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) $1.8M to develop a novel, energy efficient manufacturing approach for high-performance, lighter weight aluminum alloys used in the automotive, aviation, aerospace, defense, and marine industries. In a techno-economic analysis of Shear-Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE™) conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, this process used approximately 70% less energy than conventional aluminum tubing production. Learn more.

Recapping the Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit

In May, roughly 700 attendees from public, private, and industrial sectors gathered for the 2022 Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit for two and a half days of networking, dynamic discussions, and energy efficiency-focused tours of local facilities. You can view the Summit opening plenary, including the keynote address from National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy. You can also view the Summit presentation decks and transcripts.

25 Leaders Transforming Manufacturing

In June, SME featured 25 leaders spearheading efforts to solve some of our biggest challenges in American manufacturing today. AMO has supported and collaborated with several of the leaders featured, including Craig Blue, the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) Advanced Manufacturing Program and Howard D. Grimes, CEO of AMO’s Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII). Blue and his team  transformed the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at ORNL to produce N-95 media for face masks, and then transferred that technology to an industrial partner that makes diesel filters to enable the production of over 3 million masks a day. Grimes and the CyManII team are working to secure advanced manufacturing operations and supply chain networks. Read more about Craig and the other leaders shaping America’s manufacturing sector of the future.

NREL Research Selected to Study the Effects of Spaceflight on Bacteria Engineered to Upcycle Plastic Waste

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are working to overcome economic barriers associated with separating plastics to be recycled using an accelerated oxidation process that breaks down the materials. They’ve created a hypothesis that the conditions of spaceflight—such as microgravity and increased radiation—could boost the performance of the engineered bacterial strain. Recently, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) selected the NREL project as part of the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory Sustainability Challenge: Beyond Plastics. NREL researchers will prepare astronauts to conduct the experiments aboard the ISS.

Learn more about this microbial evolution research, supported in part by the Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment Consortium (BOTTLE), which is funded by the Bioenergy Technologies Office and Advanced Manufacturing Office.

CyManII CEO Featured on ‘Federal Drive’ Podcast

Howard Grimes, CEO of DOE’s Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII), was recently a featured guest on Federal News Network's podcast, ‘Federal Drive.’ Listen now or read the interview transcript here to learn more.

CyManII is an inclusive national research Institute with major leading research universities in cybersecurity, smart and energy efficient manufacturing, and deep expertise in research and development, supply chains, factory automation, and workforce development.

In Case You Missed It: DOE's CABLE Big Idea Workshop at Argonne National Laboratory

On July 20-21, DOE hosted its second annual event on Conductivity-enhanced materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and thermal applications (CABLE) to help supercharge our U.S. energy and manufacturing industries. The two-day CABLE Big Idea Workshop focused on accelerating research on conductivity-enhanced materials and convened experts across the CABLE research ecosystem to discuss the connection between the science underpinning new materials and their real-world manufacturability.

Are you a CABLE Prize competitor? If so, don’t miss the following deadlines:

  • Stage 2 Voucher Networking Event, August 18 from 12:30-2:00pm ET – At this event, competitors can meet with National Lab Researchers and American-Made Network Voucher Service Providers to scope potential use of their 100K voucher to be used in Stage 3 of the competition.
  • Registration Deadline for Free Stage 2 Testing, August 25 – Stage 2 competitors can submit a registration form for free testing of their conductive material. Click on “Solve this Challenge” and then “Begin Entry” to access the registration form.

Renewable Energy Guidance for Industry

The DOE Better Plants team have released a new free resource, the Renewable Energy Guidance for Industry. Learn more about the guidance document by watching a recent August 2 webinar. Renewable Energy Guidance for Industry is intended to help you learn the basics of different renewable technologies, find out how you can obtain renewable power for your organization, and discover tools and resources that can help you evaluate renewable energy systems.

The Implementing Renewable Energy in Industrial Facilities webinar gave attendees the opportunity to learn more about the guidance document and pose questions to the authors and Better Plants partners that have direct experience with implementing renewable energy technologies at industrial sites.

Download the guidance documents here: