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 Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson visited Cleveland-Cliffs’ Butler Works facility. Photo from DOE
DOE Award: $75M To Modernize American Steelmaking
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson visited Cleveland-Cliffs’ Butler Works facility in Pennsylvania to celebrate a $200 million public-private investment in American steelmaking. DOE is supporting the project with a $75 million federal award. The investment will help Butler Works upgrade its production of grain-oriented electrical steel—a vital component for transformer manufacturing and grid modernization—and increase production by up to 25%. It will also help secure 1,200 existing jobs and support more than 200 construction jobs, while strengthening domestic manufacturing, reducing reliance on foreign imports, and supporting growing electric grid demand. This investment showcases Energy Secretary Wright’s and CMEI’s ongoing commitment to strengthening American steelmaking and advanced manufacturing and bolstering domestic supply chains of critical electrical components to ensure long-term energy security and abundance.
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 The ITAC program helps American manufacturers identify savings opportunities while providing hands-on training for the next generation of skilled engineers. Photo from Shutterstock
Funding Opportunity: Applications Open for Program To Strengthen U.S. Manufacturing Sector and Domestic Workforce
CMEI’s Analysis and Strategy Office has opened applications for its Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ITAC) program, which provides no-cost technical assessments to small- and medium-sized manufacturers while training the next generation of skilled engineers. Through the funding opportunity, ITAC will continue delivering savings to American manufacturers while addressing emerging workforce priorities. In addition to traditional manufacturing centers, DOE will select universities for a new track focused on mining and mineral processing. ITAC assessments identify an average of $150,000 in annual savings opportunities per facility, and more than 2,400 students gain hands-on experience through the program each year.
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 A team prototypes a scale-model turbine used for fish passage testing. Photo from Andrew Baumgartner, Natel Energy
Project Selections: 14 Hydropower Projects To Receive Testing Support To Accelerate Time to Market
CMEI’s Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office selected 14 hydropower projects to begin negotiations on vouchers for in-kind support through the Hydropower Testing Network. The network offers access to more than 65 specialized physical testing and modeling capabilities across 21 facilities. Selected technology developers have been matched with the appropriate capabilities based on their testing needs to improve their technologies’ market readiness. Projects will test innovations ranging from advanced coatings and turbine technologies to environmental sensors and fish passage technologies.
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 Throughout October, AFFO is highlighting the people, research, partnerships, and innovations driving its work. Photos from Shutterstock
Highlighting Wins: Powering Possibilities with AFFO
Throughout October, CMEI’s Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office (AFFO) is celebrating AFFO in Action: Powering Possibilities, a month of events, activities, and stories highlighting the people, research, partnerships, and innovations driving AFFO’s work. The celebration is bracketed by National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day on Oct. 8, 2026, and National Bioenergy Day on Oct. 23, 2026, with opportunities throughout the month to learn, connect, and participate. Activities include an annual 1.008-mile H2 Walk and AFFO’s Bioenergy Basics Game.
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 Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson and CMEI Chief of Staff Rachael Overbey visited CorePower Magnetics.
Project Update: Scaling Advanced Magnetic Technologies
Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson and CMEI Chief of Staff Rachael Overbey visited CorePower Magnetics in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to tour its pilot manufacturing facility and meet with company leadership. CorePower is commercializing advanced magnetic materials and technologies that originated in part from research at DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University. DOE has supported the company’s growth through several investments, including $20 million from the Manufacturing Deployment Office to establish a state-of-the-art domestic manufacturing facility that can produce advanced magnetic alloys, motors, high-frequency transformers, and inductors.
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 CMEI Chief of Staff Rachael Overbey visited Southeast New Mexico College. Photo from DOE
Leadership in Action: Building a Skilled Workforce for a Waste Plant
CMEI Chief of Staff Rachael Overbey visited Southeast New Mexico College to meet with leadership and see how DOE investments are helping address workforce needs at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Through an $11.7 million cooperative agreement, DOE supports the college’s programs that enhance the knowledge, skills, and abilities of current employees while training the next generation of workers for this critical national clean-up resource. During the visit, Chief of Staff Overbey toured hands-on training facilities—including the Simulator Lab and Radiological Control Technician Lab—and learned more about the college’s mine safety training program.
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