Upcoming Deadlines

• Domestic Near Net Shape Manufacturing Funding Opportunity Application Deadline: June 23, 2023
• Solid-State and Flow Battery Manufacturing Lab Call Phase II Application Deadline: June 23, 2023
• Joint Technology Commercialization Fund Lab Call Application Deadline: June 30, 2023

Recent News and Funding Opportunities

Energize Your Career at AMMTO! 

If you are passionate about improving energy and material efficiency, and American manufacturing competitiveness, consider applying to join us.

We are currently hiring for the following positions:

• Energy and Workforce Development Technology Manager
• Energy Technology Manufacturing and Workforce Program Manager
• Operations Manager
• Senior Supply Chain Analyst

AMMTO Requests Public Input on Critical Materials Assessment

DOE recently announced its intent to issue a request for information (RFI) regarding an updated assessment of critical materials for energy. The primary purpose of the RFI is to improve the DOE Critical Materials Assessment prior to its finalization later this year. The RFI is now requesting public feedback on two focus areas and the submission window for feedback closes on June 30^TH.

Apply now! $30 Million Is Available to Advance the Domestic Production of Large Near-Net Shape Manufacturing Components

This opportunity is still open to applications! Help to boost the domestic production of large metallic near net shape manufacturing components. This $30 million funding opportunity will impact a broad cross-section of the U.S. manufacturing sector including clean energy generation, transportation, industrial machinery, heavy equipment, and domestic infrastructure.
Find more information about this open funding opportunity.

DOE Announces First Funding Renewal for Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institutes 

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) was the first of DOE’s existing Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institutes to receive renewed federal funding. Announced in April, DOE will renew its funding for IACMI for another five years. During its eight-year history, IACMI has built a network that has served more than 150 partners, facilitating the creation of more than 3,000 jobs, and training more than 2,000 people in the composites manufacturing workforce.

Energy Secretary Granholm delivered the news virtually to a group of IACMI’s key stakeholders convened at the Institute’s new headquarters in Knoxville; AMMTO’s Acting Director Steve McKnight was on the ground at IACMI, where he delivered congratulatory remarks and helped to officially open the facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Learn more about IACMI and its recent renewal.

Microbattery Design Prize Now Accepting Applications

DOE recently announced the launch of the Microbattery Design Prize, which is a two-stage competition that will award up to $1.1 million in federal funding. The Microbattery Design Prize seeks to support innovative small-capacity battery design projects that will yield improved performance, safety, and recyclability. The first stage of the prize, “Phase 1: Idea,” will select the best ideas for a new microbattery design. During the next stage, "Phase 2: Test,” competitors will create prototypes for performance and safety testing. Applications are now open for Phase 1 and are due on June 29, 2023. Learn more about this competition and apply today.

The CABLE Conductivity Prize Announces Seven Semi-Finalists

The Stage 2 winners of the Conductivity-Enhanced Materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and Thermal Applications (CABLE) Conductor Manufacturing Prize were made public recently, in an Earth Day event held by DOE’s American Made Challenges program. This three-stage competition awards up to $4.5 million to accelerate the development of affordable, manufacturable materials in advancement of the clean energy economy. The seven winning projects selected as Stage 2 semi-finalists will receive a collective $1.4 million and $700,000 in vouchers and will now advance to the third and final stage of the competition, wherein they will develop detailed commercialization plans for their designs and manufacture a larger sample of their materials for additional testing.

In Case You Missed It: Smart Manufacturing Leadership Programs Are Coming to All 50 States

On March 31, DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), announced $50 million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for States to create a new State Manufacturing Leadership Program. This historic initiative is supporting new or expanded state programs that enable small- and medium-sized manufacturers to increase their use of smart manufacturing and high-performance computing technologies and tools. Competitive funding awards of up to $2 million per state will be made over an up-to three-year period. Find out how this program can transform smart manufacturing in America.

Biden-Harris Administration Funds New DOE Critical Minerals Production Facility

DOE recently announced receiving $16 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support projects working to bring critical mineral supply chains to America and reduce reliance on competitors. Specifically, two studies, one based in West Virginia and a second in North Dakota, will use this funding to study how they can extract critical minerals from coal mine waste streams. Learn more about these important, impactful efforts now underway.

Lab Call Corner
(Deadlines can be found below)

• Microelectronics Devices for Energy Efficiency Scaling Lab Call
  This $4 million in Research & Development (R&D) funding will be available to National Laboratories will support technology leadership in microelectronics ─ a foundational technology for clean energy ─ and to stop exponential growth in microelectronics energy use. This Lab Call focuses on flattening the slope of microelectronics energy use as part of AMMTO’s broader microelectronics R&D roadmapping effort now called “Energy Efficiency Scaling for two Decades.”
• Solid State and Flow Battery Manufacturing Lab Call
  This $16 million in R&D funding will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by spurring technology leadership in solid-state and flow battery manufacturing. This lab call seeks to facilitate partnerships between national labs and industry to address the existing gaps and weaknesses in this area of manufacturing technology. The results of Phase I of this Lab Call were recently published, providing members of industry a thorough list of flow and solid-state manufacturing capabilities and points of contact for all participating labs for potential partnership in Phase II.
• Joint Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Lab Call
  With this $6 million in TCF funding, three of DOE’s applied energy technology offices (AMMTO, IEDO, and the Building Technologies Office (BTO)) will pursue a strategic, forward-looking, competitive approach to commercialize the intellectual property developed by DOE’s National Labs. This process better enables the technologies being prepared and matured within these National Labs for commercial adoption, identifying the highest-quality prospective partners, and assisting those industry partners in evaluating technologies for their business models.

Highlights

Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program Hosts Demonstration Day After Achieving $1 Billion Funding Milestone

Last week, DOE's Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP) brought together four national laboratories to showcase 20 early-stage clean energy startups at the Grand Sheraton Riverwalk in Chicago for the second annual LEEP Demonstration Day. Dr. Geri Richmond, DOE Under Secretary for Science & Innovation, delivered the keynote address to over 350 virtual and in-person attendees and moderated a panel of female LEEP program entrepreneurs who discussed a wide range of challenges facing startups, including gender representation and equal access.

Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory hosted the event and Innovation Crossroads at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Cyclotron Road at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and West Gate at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory participated. To date, the 120 Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program startups have also created 1,000 jobs for American workers. Read more success stories and updates about LEEP.

Breakthrough New Additive Manufacturing Method Receives Recognition

A paper on a breakthrough new additive manufacturing method was recently published in Nature, notably only one in a small number of papers on additive manufacturing to have ever been featured in the publication.

The paper lauds the discovery of a new 3D printing method that produces materials in dramatically less time than traditional processes. Through this new process, the team demonstrated the discovery of a semiconductor material with superior thermoelectric properties; a notable discovery for energy harvesting and cooling appliances. Learn more about this groundbreaking discovery.

BOTTLE Researchers Redesign PHAs For the Circular Economy

A paper produced by the BOTTLE Consortium was recently published in Science, highlighting the work of BOTTLE researchers to redesign for processability, performance, and recyclability. BOTTLE researchers redesigned biological PHA structures and developed a chemocatalytic pathway to produce a class of new PHAs that are melt-processable, mechanically tough, and chemically circular, creating more sustainable PHAs. The BOTTLE Consortium, which stands for Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment, is a multi-organization consortium led by AMMTO and DOE’s Building Technologies Office that focuses on developing new chemical upcycling strategies for today's plastics and redesigning tomorrow's plastics to be recyclable-by-design. Read the full article now.

Acid-Free Dissolution Recycling: A Spotlight on Rare Earth Elements 

Recycling processes can involve hazardous materials that are harmful to the environment, especially those containing electronic waste (e-waste). Beginning in 2016, the Critical Materials Institute and AMMTO began working on the development of environmental-friendly processes for acid-free dissolution recycling and chemical recovery of rare earth elements (REE) that are used in magnets in consumer electronics, which become e-waste. Find a more in-depth summary of this critical work and industry impact.

Meet the Modern Makers who Help Power the Manufacturing USA Network

The Modern Makers series from Manufacturing USA showcases individuals working throughout the Manufacturing USA ecosystem at institutes and member companies whose sense of purpose embodies our mission. Here are profiles of five innovators working across the five institutes managed by AMMTO: