Energy Secretary Granholm Officially Sworn In

Jennifer M. Granholm was sworn in as the 16th Secretary of Energy on February 25, 2021, becoming just the second woman to head the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Secretary Granholm will lead DOE in helping America achieve President Biden's goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 by advancing cutting-edge clean energy technologies, creating millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs, and building an equitable clean energy future. Read the full announcement.

Energy Department Hosts Roundtable and Announces $52.5 Million to Support U.S. Manufacturers and Industrial Workers

Earlier this month, Secretary Granholm and Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Kelly Speakes-Backman spoke with engineers and manufacturers about how agency initiatives have helped them improve efficiency, train an energy-savvy workforce, and reduce their carbon footprints. Check out the video of the roundtable. Secretary Granholm also announced up to $52.5 million in funding for Industrial Assessment Centers to help small- and medium-sized manufacturers and wastewater treatment facilities improve their efficiency, save money, and reduce their carbon footprints.

Energy Department Announces $20 Million to Advance Manufacturability of Grid-Scale Energy Storage Technologies

Earlier this month, DOE announced up to $20 million for research and development (R&D) that will advance the manufacturability of mid-sized flow battery systems. With this funding opportunity, DOE will partner with industry to address technical and manufacturing challenges that have prevented flow battery systems from achieving cost targets and commercial viability. For more information, register to attend an informational webinar on April 1, 2021. Concept papers are due April 29, 2021.

DOE's Office of Electricity (OE) will also support testing for selected projects, including at OE's Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL) research facility.

Energy Department Launches New Manufacturing Prize for Improved Conductors that Support Widespread Electrification

Last week DOE launched the Conductivity-enhanced materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and thermal applications (CABLE) Conductor Manufacturing Prize. This three-stage competition will award up to $4.5 million to spur development of affordable, manufacturable materials that increase the energy efficiency of all electric devices.

To learn more about the Prize, visit the American-Made Challenges website and register to attend an informational webinar on March 30, 2021. Then, April 7-9, 2021, learn more and register for a workshop on conductor manufacturing and materials challenges, and help us create a new research ecosystem for DOE's CABLE Initiative.

REMADE Institute Announces $43 Million in New Technology Research

The REMADE Institute, which is focused on dramatically reducing life cycle energy consumption through the development of technologies for reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing of materials, selected 24 new projects as part of the Institute's latest round of funding. The selected projects include both transformational and traditional R&D aimed at reducing energy consumption and decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. REMADE is a Manufacturing USA Institute managed by AMO. Read the full announcement.

EVENT: HPC4EI Focus on Process Optimization - April 16, 2021

Join the High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) program for a virtual event featuring discussions from industrial partners and national laboratory computational scientists on new process optimization projects and the basics of machine learning. Register for the event.

WORKSHOP: Ultra-Precision Control for Ultra-Efficient Devices - April 21-23, 2021

Join AMO for the second workshop in its series on semiconductor research and development (R&D) for energy efficiency. The workshop focuses on the role of ultra-precision control in enabling manufacturable, ultra-energy-efficient semiconductor devices. Learn more and register for the workshop.

New Funding Opportunities for Small Businesses to Conduct R&D

DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs recently released the SBIR-STTR Phase II, Release 2 funding opportunity, with awards of up to $1.15 million over two years. Projects must have the potential for commercialization and meet specific DOE mission-specific R&D needs. Applications are due April 20, 2021 by 11:59 p.m. ET. Visit the DOE-wide SBIR-STTR page for more information.

50001 Ready Program's New Cohorts Provide Energy Management System Technical Assistance

The 50001 Ready program is offering free energy management systems technical assistance to cohorts of energy team members of U.S.-based industrial, commercial, and institutional sites. Accepted cohorts will receive six-to-twelve months of tailored support from experts through monthly group training webinars, regular one-on-one coaching calls, and guidance on the use of 50001 Ready tools and other resources. Learn more on how to join 50001 Ready's cohorts.