This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO). The United States (U.S.) manufacturing sector uses 25% of the nation’s energy and has an annual energy bill of more than $200 billion. Efficiency improvements in manufacturing not only benefit the Industrial sector, but can also impact the energy efficiency of products used throughout the economy.
AMO supports innovative, advanced-manufacturing applied R&D projects that focus on specific, high-impact manufacturing technology and process challenges. AMO invests in foundational, energy-related, advanced-manufacturing processes (where energy costs are a determinant of competitive manufacturing) and broadly applicable platform technologies (the enabling base upon which other systems and applications can be developed). The competitively selected projects from this FOA will focus on developing next-generation manufacturing processes, materials, and information technologies that improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in energy-intensive and energy-dependent processes, and facilitate the transition of emerging, cost-competitive energy technologies to domestic production.
AMO’s strategic goals supported by this FOA are to:
- Improve the productivity and energy efficiency of U.S. manufacturing
- Reduce lifecycle energy and resource impacts of manufactured goods
- Leverage diverse domestic energy resources in U.S. manufacturing, while strengthening environmental stewardship
- Transition DOE supported innovative technologies and practices into U.S. manufacturing capabilities
- Strengthen and advance the U.S. manufacturing workforce, providing the opportunity for good-paying careers in the manufacturing sector
- Accelerate the deployment of emerging and transformative technologies to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial sector by 2050
Topic 1: Manufacturing Process Innovation
Research for manufacturing process innovation represents a major opportunity space with wide-ranging energy efficiency and economic benefits. Advances in technologies currently used in manufacturing processes, as well as entirely new methods of processing materials can lower energy requirements, which will lower manufacturing energy use and associated costs, and also enable the manufacture of improved materials, technologies, and products.
- Topic Area 1a: Efficiency Improvements to Drying Processes
- Topic Area 1b: Advanced Tooling for Lightweight Automotive Components
- Topic Area 1c: Sustainable Chemistry Practices in Manufacturing
Topic Area 2: Advanced Materials Manufacturing
Advanced materials manufacturing is focused on the development of novel materials with improved properties and improved production processes. The objective is to advance technologies that accelerate the development of new processes to make next generation materials for cost-effective advanced energy technologies. Opportunities include manufacturing processes for advanced industrial materials and advanced materials for reduced life cycle energy impacts.
- Topic Area 2a: Materials for Harsh Service Conditions
- Topic Area 2b: Development of Aluminum-Cerium (Al-Ce) Alloys and Processing to Enable Increased Energy Efficiency in Aerospace Applications
Topic Area 3: Energy Systems
The manufacturing sector is becoming more engaged in supporting the energy framework of the nation and making a significant impact. Manufacturing is moving from its traditional role as a major economic engine for the country to one where it additionally actively supports important national energy initiatives such as enhancing the electricity grid’s resilience. In general, Energy Systems is focused on advancing both 1) systems related to energy conversion, utilization, storage, and management within industrial facilities, and 2) production processes of these energy systems to be used in manufacturing and other sectors.
- Topic Area 3a: Structured Electrode Manufacturing for Lithium-ion Batteries
Interested applicants should upload the following documents in sequence in one PDF (Last Name_DE-FOA-0002253_2021) no later than 4:00 p.m. on the internal submission deadline:
Cover Page (1 page, pdf):
- Project Title
- Specific FOA Topic Area being addressed
- Area of Interest (if applicable) being addressed
- Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PI(s)
- Names of other key personnel
Project Summary (no more than 3-pages)
-
Applicants are required to describe succinctly:
- The proposed technology, including its basic operating principles and how it is unique and innovative;
- The proposed technology’s target level of performance (applicants should provide technical data or other support to show how the proposed target could be met);
Formatting Guidelines:
- Font/size: Times New Roman (12 pt.)
- Document margins: 1.0” (top, bottom, left and right)
- Standard paper size (8 ½” x 11)
Questions concerning the limited submissions process may be submitted to limitedsubs@psu.edu.