The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory welcomed seven technology innovators to join the third cohort of Innovation...
Advanced Manufacturing & Industrial Decarbonization
July 9, 2019
minute read time
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Innovation Crossroads Welcomes Seven New Research Fellows
- DOE Launches Wave Energy Water Desalination Prize Competition
- EVENT: IACMI Summer Members Meeting – July 23-25, 2019
- DOE Invested Nearly $33 Million in Small Business Innovation Projects
- DOE's Chain Reaction Innovations Selects Five New Innovators
- DOE Celebrates Energy Savings and Better Buildings Partner Accomplishments
- Argonne’s Chain Reaction Innovations Appoints First Advisory Council
- DOE Recognizes Eastman Chemical for Manufacturing Leadership
- SEP 50001 and 50001 Ready Updates!
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory welcomed seven technology innovators to join the third cohort of Innovation Crossroads, the Southeast’s only entrepreneurial research and development program based at a DOE National Laboratory. Innovation Crossroads is sponsored by DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Innovation Crossroads is one of three DOE Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Programs funded by AMO. It aims to address critical gaps in human capital by providing fellowships and two-year institutional homes where talented innovators are equipped with the proper resources to become first-time entrepreneurs.
Learn more about the fellows and their projects.
DOE Launches Wave Energy Water Desalination Prize Competition
DOE announced the Waves to Water Prize, which seeks to accelerate the development of wave energy powered desalination systems and launch novel technologies to address critical water security challenges. The prize is the first to be launched by DOE under the White House-initiated Water Security Grand Challenge – a DOE-led framework to advance transformational technology and innovation to meet the global need for safe, secure, and affordable water. The first concept stage is now open for applications through September 11, 2019.
Learn more about American-Made Challenges.
Last December, DOE also announced $100 million to establish an Energy-Water Desalination Hub. Led by AMO, the Hub will focus on desalination R&D to provide low-cost alternatives that treat "non-traditional" water sources such as seawater, brackish water, and produced waters, for use in municipal and industrial water supplies, or to serve other water resource needs.
EVENT: The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) Summer Members Meeting – July 23-25, 2019
The IACMI Summer 2019 Members Meeting will be held in Denver, Colorado showcasing IACMI's partners in the state including national laboratories, leaders in advanced manufacturing and technology, and top tier universities. The conference will highlight technical advancements of the institute, member successes, workforce development activities, and more.
DOE Invested Nearly $33 Million in Small Business Innovation Projects
American small businesses received nearly a $33 million boost from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program. Small businesses are receiving Phase I Release 2 and Phase II grants that demonstrate technical feasibility for innovations during the first phase of their research. EERE will fund 109 awards under 12 topics as part of Phase 1. Most Phase I awards are for $200,000 for less than one year.
EERE also announced 11 projects to receive Phase II funding, totaling approximately $11 million. Small businesses that demonstrated technical feasibility for innovations during Phase I of their research were required to compete for Phase II funding to build prototypes or processes development. AMO funded a project by Tiptek, LLC of West Chester, PA, who is working on measurement tools to verify atomic location to create a new class of materials that enable high performance manufacturing.
Additional information can be found on the EERE SBIR/STTR website.
DOE's Chain Reaction Innovations Selects Five New Innovators
DOE announced the third cohort of innovators to join Chain Reaction Innovations, a DOE-funded entrepreneurial research and development (R&D) program based at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The DOE Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Programs are funded by AMO and aim to address critical gaps in human capital by providing fellowships and two-year institutional homes where talented innovators are equipped with the proper resources to become first-time entrepreneurs.
Meet the newest innovators and the technology they look to advance.
DOE Celebrates Energy Savings and Better Buildings Partner Accomplishments
DOE announced the progress made by the more than 900 public and private-sector organizations leading the U.S. in energy efficiency through their participation in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Better Buildings Initiative. Together, Better Buildings partners have saved 1.38 quadrillion British thermal units, equivalent to $8.4 billion in energy and cost savings. The 2019 Better Buildings Progress Report highlights program progress and specific accomplishments in the commercial, industrial, residential, and public sectors to improve energy productivity.
Download the report.
Argonne’s Chain Reaction Innovations Appoints First Advisory Council
Chain Reaction Innovations, a DOE initiative under the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurships Programs, recently named 14 advisory council members, including investors, industry experts and business executives, to help guide its growth and strategy. Chain Reaction Innovations provides a two-year program for innovators focusing on energy and science technologies, embedding participants at Argonne to develop their technology and business while collaborating with Argonne scientists and leveraging resources of the national lab. It is part of AMO’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Programs.
Learn more.
DOE Recognizes Eastman Chemical for Manufacturing Leadership
DOE recognized the energy productivity achievements of Eastman Chemical, a global advanced materials and specialty additives company headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee. As a partner in DOE’s Better Plants Challenge, Eastman committed to improving its energy performance across all U.S. operations by 20%, from a 2008 baseline, while sharing strategies and results. Eastman has improved its energy productivity by approximately 12% since joining, putting the company more than halfway toward meeting its goal.
Learn more.
Superior Energy Performance (SEP) 50001 and 50001 Ready Updates!
Visit our news page to learn about the updated SEP 50001 (2019) Program, access a free guide on energy management and the supply chain, find insights from the latest facilities that have attained 50001 Ready, and discover why 3M won a global honor.
Learn more.