$120 Million In Grants Available For Transformational Manufacturing

Summary. The Department of Energy ("DOE") announced it has made $120 million in grants available through its Industrial Technology Program for "transformational manufacturing processes and technologies" that will help double energy productivity in U.S. industry (DE FOA-0000560). The "Innovative Manufacturing Initiative" will support research and development projects to improve energy productivity and energy performance in the manufacturing sector, with the emphasis being on "new processes and materials that are revolutionary and can be commercialized within the next five to seven years" (p. 8 of Funding Opportunity Announcement, or "FOA"). This Client Alert discusses the types of projects likely to be funded, who is eligible to apply, and steps needed to craft a competitive application for funding.

Two Technical Topic Areas of Interest, both focusing on increasing the output per unit of energy used. In order to promote increasing energy productivity, the DOE focuses on two Topic Areas in its FOA: Topic Area 1, "Innovative Manufacturing Processes" and Topic Area 2, "Innovative Materials." Applications must identify which Topic Area the proposed project falls under, as well as the SubTopic Area, as discussed below.

Innovative Manufacturing Processes focus on projects that promote "low temperature, energy efficient" processing (p. 8). Relevant SubTopics under this area include: (1) Reactions and Separations; (2) High-temperature Processing; (3) Waste-Heat Minimization and Recovery; and (4) Sustainable Manufacturing. So, for example, a relevant project under this Topic Area could be any project that (a) improves energy efficiency for an existing manufacturing process; (b) develops or produces either more energy-efficient materials or lower-energy or non-thermal alternative processes to current manufacturing; or (c) finds a way to retrieve waste heat, reduce water usage, or otherwise reduce the energy footprint of manufacturing.

Innovative Materials focuses on the development of inputs in the industrial process that cost less, last longer, and improve industrial performance (p. 9). Relevant SubTopics under this area include: (1) Thermal and Degradation Resistant Materials; (2) Highly Functional, High-Performance Materials; and (3) Lower Cost Materials for Energy Systems. So, for example, a relevant project under this Topic Area could be any project that (a) promotes the production of advanced ceramics, coatings and/or nanomaterials; (b) develops...