|
Welcome to the Manufacturing Moment, a monthly dose of advanced manufacturing updates hot off the factory floor.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes.
|
|
|
Reach out to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) at ammto@ee.doe.gov with any manufacturing musings. |
|
Upcoming Deadlines
|
|
|
Highlights
|
|
|
LEEP Trailblazers Showcase Startups at Demo Day
On May 1, 2024, supporters of the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP) gathered in Denver, Colorado, to explore some of the transformative energy technologies being developed by promising cleantech entrepreneurs.
After AMMTO Technology Manager Paul Syers kicked off Demo Day by detailing the LEEP program, LEEP innovators from each of the four nodes (Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory; Cyclotron Road at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Innovation Crossroads at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and West Gate at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) pitched their innovative cleantech startups to the crowd.
“We are proud to support the national labs and the entrepreneurs who are leading this effort, and it is critically important that we work together to scale these technologies, commercialize them and get them out there to make that difference,” said Jeff Marootian, principal deputy assistant secretary of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
|
Biodegradable Bioplastic Is Becoming a Reality
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have made the impossible possible: They’ve engineered a self-recycling bioplastic that could help reduce plastics pollution. The biodegradable form of thermoplastic polyurethane—a soft yet durable commercial plastic used in footwear, floor mats, cushions, and memory foam—is filled with bacterial spores that, when exposed to nutrients present in compost, germinate and break down the material at the end of its life cycle (in compost or any other natural environment after around 5 months). Published in Nature Communications, this research was partially funded by AMMTO’s legacy parent office, the Advanced Materials Office.
(Image from David Baillot, UCSD)
|
AMMTO’s Kate Peretti Featured During Public Service Recognition Week
AMMTO is proud to shine the spotlight on Secure and Sustainable Materials Program Manager Kate Peretti, who was recently featured as one of EERE’s Public Service Recognition Week Faces of Public Service for her five years of dedication as a public servant. Way to go, Kate!
AMMTO’s Sudarsan Rachuri Receives Washington Academy of Science’s 2024 Leadership Award in Manufacturing Engineering
Next Generation Materials and Processes Technology Manager Sudarsan Rachuri was recognized for being the force behind initiating smart manufacturing research and revolutionizing the practice and innovations in manufacturing ecosystems to lead the country’s future. Congratulations, Sudarsan, on this well-deserved honor!
|
Manufacturing Demonstration Facility’s Innovation Days
DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility hosted the first-ever biennial Innovation Days at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with 120+ attendees from industry, academia, and several DOE clean energy programs including AMMTO. While engaging on research and development challenges and opportunities in the clean energy space, attendees were able to participate in a Workforce Development Reception and student poster session with about 40 students from academic institutions across the country who are conducting research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. The event showcased the successes, innovations, and collaborations of the facility ecosystem and provided stakeholders with information on how to leverage these DOE assets to accelerate clean energy innovation and increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness.
|
|
|
Making It!
|
|
|
Say Hello to Fellow Alaa Elwany
Welcome back to our Making It! series, which spotlights the fresh perspectives of our fantastic fellows who are making next-generation materials and manufacturing processes possible for our clean energy future. In our second profile, we introduce you to Alaa Elwany, who ultimately chose a career in advanced manufacturing after knowing from a young age that he wanted to follow in his family’s footsteps and get his Ph.D.
|
“Manufacturing is really on track to transition from a dark and dirty and dangerous environment to a glamorous one,” Elwany said. “Manufacturing is transitioning into a high-tech industry.”
In this Q&A interview, Elwany shares why he ended up staying in the United States (despite plans to return to Alexandria), how a DOE fellowship broadened his horizons, and what excites him most about the next generation of manufacturing workers.
|
|
|
Upcoming Events
|
|
|
May 29, 2024: Power Electronics Roadmap Webinar on Techno-Economic Analysis/Life Cycle Assessment for Power Electronics
Join AMMTO for the next Power Electronics Roadmap Listening Session focused on Techno-Economic Analysis/Life Cycle Assessment for Power Electronics. These sessions are part of our efforts to draft a roadmap that will better identify performance, lifetime, and cost metrics for future power electronics systems in the next 10 to 12 years. Additionally, the roadmap will provide an assessment of the potential impact that innovations in power electronics can have on our clean energy economy.
June 18, 2024: Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize Informational Webinar
Join prize administrators from AMMTO and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to learn everything you need to know about the E-SCRAP, including more information on the prize’s timeline, goals, and deliverables. The three-phase competition will award up to $4 million to competitors to substantially increase the production and use of critical materials recovered from electronic scrap (e-scrap).
|
|
In Case You Missed It
|
|
|
- Submit your application for EERE-funded high-performance computing projects.
-
Submit feedback to a request for information on clean energy supply chain data and analysis methods.
- Access the recording of the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute’s Smart Manufacturing Summit.
- The Small Business Association announced its 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Stage One Winners, with up to $3 million in prizes awarded in advanced manufacturing topics.
- Beehive Industries, an additive manufacturing company cultivated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, celebrated the opening of its 60,000-square-foot facility in Knoxville, Tennessee, as reported by local news.
-
The 2024 Manufacturing USA Network Meeting, shared on LinkedIn, provided an opportunity to network, share knowledge and information, explore challenges and opportunities, and exchange best practices related to advanced manufacturing and key institute operations.
-
DOE selected 10 projects as part of the Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator funding program.
-
Eight projects will receive a total of $44 million from the Advancing U.S. Thin-Film Solar Photovoltaics funding program. These solar manufacturing projects will de-risk innovative tandem photovoltaic technologies including perovskites and reduce costs for cadmium telluride systems.
|
|
|
|
|
