Building on the successful Additive Manufacturing Institute in Youngstown, Ohio, three new Institutes in critical manufacturing areas have been announced by the Obama Administration.
Anita Balachandra, Senior Vice President at TechVision21, applauded the announcement stating “Industry focused consortia have a successful track record both domestically and abroad in advancing next generation manufacturing, and TechVision21 supports the Administration taking the lead by proposing three new manufacturing institutes.”
While Congressional appropriators consider the one-time $1 billion request for a national network of 15 manufacturing institutes, the Administration has taken the lead by allocating $200 million across five federal agencies: Defense, Energy, Commerce, NASA, and NSF. The competition will focus on three areas of strategic value and wide commercial application: Digital Manufacturing and Design; Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing; and Next Generation Power Electronics.
Innovation in advanced manufacturing requires substantial investments in R&D and workforce training, resources beyond the individual capacities of many small to medium manufacturers. The proposed Manufacturing Institutes will drive co-investment between government, industry, and academia to support cutting-edge manufacturing in targeted technology fields. These collaborative regional consortiums build shared innovation infrastructure that enables companies to design, test, and pilot new products and manufacturing processes; along with the continuous development of workforce talent.