DOE Invests $61M in 31 Projects to Advance RD&D in Domestic Manufacturing

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has invested $61 million in 31 projects led by national laboratories, industry, and academia to accelerate research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) in domestic manufacturing.

The projects aim to improvise the next generation of materials and manufacturing and related energy technologies required to support America’s economic competitiveness and achieve a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.

“These 31 projects will help advance cutting-edge manufacturing technology solutions vital to our nation’s clean energy future while also fostering competitive, sustainable, and resilient manufacturing systems and supply chains to strengthen our nation’s manufacturing enterprise,” said Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary for EERE.

Partly backed by EERE’s Wind Energy and Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Technologies Offices, 20 projects were selected in Next Generation Materials and Manufacturing, which focuses on RD&D for cost-effective manufacturing processes and novel materials with improved properties.

Specific subtopics included were increased conductivity metal-based material systems ($6.8 million), harsh environment materials ($15.8 million), and AI/machine learning for aerostructures ($5 million). 

Four projects were selected in Secure and Sustainable Materials with an investment of $10.8 million to address regional pilot-scale demonstrations of circular supply chains, including advancements in technologies such as innovative material recovery, end-of-life processing, and recycling.

Co-funded by the Buildings Technologies Office, seven projects were selected in Energy Technology Manufacturing, which focuses on clean energy technology manufacturing innovation to improve performance and address technical barriers.

Specific subtopics were development, scale-up, and demonstration of processing technologies to manufacture state-of-the-art cathode active materials (CAM) for domestic electric vehicle battery manufacturing ($17.6 million) and building dehumidification scale-up ($5 million). 

A cost share of $17.53 million for a total of $78.6 million is made available to the selectees with the federal government’s funding of $61.07 million. The FOA is led by the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office with the Buildings Technologies Office and Office of Electricity.