Annual Survey of Manufactures

Annual Survey of Manufactures: 2009 — Dec. 15 — "These data provide key measures of manufacturing activity, products, and location for the public and private sectors. The survey provides the best current measure of U.S. manufacturing industry outputs, inputs and operating status. Statistics include employment, payroll, worker hours, payroll supplements, cost of materials, selected operating expenses, value added by manufacturing capital expenditures, inventories and energy consumption. The survey also provides estimates of value of shipments for more than 1700 classes of manufactured products. Data are available at the national and state level, including the District of Columbia."

Vehicle technologies

Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced today the Department is accepting applications for up to $184 million over three to five years to accelerate the development and deployment of new efficient vehicle technologies that will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, save drivers money, and limit carbon pollution. Projects will span the broad spectrum of technology approaches, including advanced materials, combustion research, hybrid electric systems, fleet efficiency, and fuels technology.

The Funding Opportunity Announcement addresses the development of key technologies required to achieve large scale adoption of advanced vehicles such as plug-in electric hybrids (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). Although the first of a new generation of electric drive vehicles is now entering the market, advancements in batteries, power electronics and lightweight materials are required to be fully competitive. In addition, extremely efficient vehicles utilizing improved combustion technologies, fuels, and waste heat recovery offer significant near-term improvements to conventional vehicles.

The Department is seeking applications from industry, laboratory and university teams to address our transportation challenges. The solicitation seeks to fill gaps in the existing program through the development of enabling technologies that will remove barriers and create new paradigms in vehicle design.

The Funding Opportunity Announcement released today focuses on eight approaches to improving vehicle efficiency:

• Advanced fuels and lubricants: Improve today's vehicle fuels and lubricants to enable optimal performance of advanced combustion engines.
• Light weighting materials: Accelerate commercial availability of lighter weight vehicles using advanced materials like magnesium and carbon fiber to dramatically reduce vehicle weight.
• Multi-material light weight material prototype: Design, build, and test a light-weight vehicle that is 50 percent lighter than a baseline light-duty vehicle.
• Advanced cells and design technology for electric drive batteries: Develop high energy or high power electric vehicles that significantly exceed existing state-of-the-art technologies in terms of performance and/or cost.
• Advanced power electronics and electric motor technology: Develop the next generation of power inverters and electric motors to meet demanding performance targets while achieving significant reductions in cost.
• Thermoelectric and enabling engine technology: Improve the efficiency of thermoelectric devices to convert engine waste heat to electricity. Develop early-stage enabling engine technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
• Fleet efficiency: Develop and demonstrate fuel efficient tire and driver feedback technologies that will positively affect efficiency of the fleet of passenger cars and commercial vehicles.
• Advanced vehicle testing and evaluation: Conduct laboratory and field evaluations of advanced technology vehicles and related infrastructure, while developing new or modified test procedures.

Applications for the solicitation are due February 28, 2011. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov to be considered for awards. The Department of Energy expects to announce the selections by summer 2011.

Read more information on the Vehicle Technologies Program website.

Energy Export Initiative

WASHINGTON - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today joined seven other U.S. Government agencies in launching the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Export Initiative, a coordinated effort to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency exports. In partnership with the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy co-chairs the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee Working Group of the federal agencies participating in the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Export Initiative.

While continuing to support trade missions, commercial advocacy, and industry outreach, DOE is also investing in instrumental market research and discovery that can help focus U.S. government resources for trade promotion. For example, DOE will identify U.S. manufactured energy efficiency products likely to be competitive in global markets, and in collaboration with U.S. trade associations, DOE will explore the creation of guides for foreign buyers listing technologies and services available from U.S. providers.

"Expanding U.S. clean technology exports is a critical step to ensuring America's economic competitiveness in the years ahead," said Secretary Chu. "The initiatives we are announcing today will provide us with a better understanding of the global clean energy marketplace and help boost U.S. exports."

The Initiative is the country's first-ever Federal government coordinated effort to support renewable energy and energy efficiency exports. Through the implementation of 23 interagency actions, the Initiative will facilitate a significant increase of renewable energy and energy efficiency exports during the next five years, helping to meet the goals of the National Export Initiative and President Obama's challenge to become the leading exporter of clean energy technologies.

The prospects for U.S. technology exports focusing on this industry are vast. More than 100 countries now have policies to encourage the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Many of these countries have substantial deployment targets that will drive demand for renewable energy and energy efficiency for years to come.

The Initiative was developed through the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) Working Group on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, which includes representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Energy, State, and Agriculture, as well as the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

The report is available for download on the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Exporter web portal.

Environmental Sustainability

This program supports engineering research that seeks to balance society's need to provide ecological protection and maintain stable economic conditions. There are four principal general research areas which are supported, but others can be proposed: * Industrial Ecology * Green Engineering * Ecological Engineering * Earth Systems

All proposed research should be driven by engineering principles, and be presented explicitly in an environmental sustainability context. Proposals should include involvement in engineering research of at least one graduate student, as well as undergraduates. Incorporation of aspects of social, behavioral, and economic sciences is welcomed.The duration of unsolicited awards is generally one to three years. The average annual award size for the program is $100,000. Any proposal received outside the announced dates will be returned without review.The duration of CAREER awards is five years. The submission deadline for Engineering CAREER proposals is in July every year. Please see the following URL for more information: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08051/nsf08051.jsp.Proposals for Conferences, Workshops, and Supplements may be submitted at any time, but must be discussed with the program director before submission.Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) and EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) replace the SGER program. Please note that proposals of these types must be discussed with the program director before submission. Further details are available in the PAPPG download, available below. Please refer to the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG), January 2009, (NSF 09-1) when you prepare your proposal.

Link to Full Announcement

NSF Program Description 09-7643

Manufacturing Enterprise Systems (MES)

The MES program supports research on design, planning, and control of operations in manufacturing enterprises. Research is supported that impacts the analytical and computational techniques relevant to extended enterprise operations and that offer the prospect of implementable solutions. Topics of interest include analytical and computational tools for planning, monitoring, control, and scheduling of manufacturing and distribution operations, and development of methods for optimization of manufacturing enterprises in the presence of a high degree of uncertainty and risk.

What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)

Manufacturing Enterprise Systems

Full Proposal Window: September 1, 2010 - October 1, 2010

September 1 - October 1, Annually Thereafter

Full Proposal Window: January 15, 2011 - February 15, 2011

January 15 - February 15, Annually Thereafter

Due dates repeat annually. Please reference the CMMI main page for further specifics concerning unsolicited proposal submission windows.

SYNOPSIS

The MES program supports research on design, planning, and control of operations in manufacturing enterprises. Research is supported that impacts the analytical and computational techniques relevant to extended enterprise operations and that offer the prospect of implementable solutions. Topics of interest include analytical and computational tools for planning, monitoring, control, and scheduling of manufacturing and distribution operations, and development of methods for optimization of manufacturing enterprises in the presence of a high degree of uncertainty and risk.

Department of Energy Paves Way for Additional Clean Energy Projects and Jobs Through Manufacturing Solicitation

[From www.energy.gov] Washington D.C. --- Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a new loan guarantee solicitation for renewable energy manufacturing projects. The Commercial Technology Manufacturing Systems and Components solicitation is supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through Section 1705 of the Loan Guarantee Program. The solicitation will support the deployment of renewable energy technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help increase employment in the nation's green manufacturing sector, which is part of the Administration's long-term plan to create new green energy jobs.

The solicitation will seek applications for projects that manufacture commercial technology renewable energy systems, such as an energy storage system, and components, such as wind turbine systems, blades or solar photovoltaic components.

"The Department's manufacturing solicitation will help more Americans get back to work while accelerating economic development," said Secretary Chu. "To keep pace in the global market, we need to build and expand U.S.-based state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities."

The Department has recently implemented a number of improvements to its loan guarantee program that will help facilitate a more efficient application process. For example, the Department designed and organized the manufacturing solicitation to provide greater transparency into application requirements, evaluation processes, schedules and fees. Additionally, applicants can apply to the solicitation via the newly launched, user-friendly online application portal.

As with earlier solicitations, the manufacturing solicitation will consist of a two-step process with rolling deadlines. The first Part I deadline is August 31, 2010, and the first Part II deadline is October 31, 2010. Final part I applications are due November 30, 2010 and final part II applications are due January 31, 2011. Applicants are strongly encouraged to get their applications in early since projects must meet all statutory and regulatory requirements and commence construction no later than September 30, 2011. The Department will make available up to $750 million to pay the credit subsidy costs of loan guarantees issued through this solicitation.

The Recovery Act created a new Section 1705 under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Title XVII) for the rapid deployment of renewable energy projects and related manufacturing facilities, electric power transmission projects, and leading edge biofuels projects that commence construction before September 30, 2011. This solicitation is the fourth issued in support of Section 1705. For more information on this program, please visit the Loan Guarantee Program Office.

America COMPETES Act of 2010

[From the Congresswoman's website] July 8, 2010 Erie, Pa.—Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3), a member of the Committee on Science and Technology, was at Industrial Sales and Manufacturing, Inc. in Erie today to discuss legislation that supports the local manufacturing and education communities, the America COMPETES Act of 2010. To enhance America’s competitiveness and technological innovation, America COMPETES makes strategic investments that support manufacturing and create jobs by funding science, research and development, and education.

The America COMPETES Act provides strategic investments to create new technologies and support manufacturing—two areas proven to create quality jobs and lasting businesses. Each year, the U.S. manufacturing sector generates more than $1.5 trillion worth of goods. Manufacturing accounts for more than half of total U.S. exports and employs millions of people. However, between 2000 and 2007, the U.S. global market share of manufactured exports fell from 19 percent to 14 percent. During that same period, the Chinese share of global exports rose from 7 percent to 17 percent.

The COMPETES reauthorization supports small- and medium-sized manufacturers by providing Innovative Technology federal loan guarantees to help them access capital to become more efficient and stay competitive. COMPETES supports the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, which provides resources to keep small American manufacturers on the cutting edge by enhancing growth, improving productivity, and expanding capacity.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) MEP program is a network of 59 centers across the country, including the Northwest Industrial Resource Center in Erie. MEPs help our local small- and medium-sized manufacturers solve problems, increase productivity, improve their economic competitiveness, and enhance their technological capabilities.

Rep. Dahlkemper has an amendment to the COMPETES Act to help close the gap between the skills and talent of workers and the advanced manufacturing needs of employers by providing training in advanced manufacturing. Through Rep. Dahlkemper’s amendment, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will award grants to expand scientific and technical education and training in advanced manufacturing through the Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education programs.

Read the full press release here.

GOALI accepting proposals

Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) promotes university-industry partnerships by making project funds or fellowships/traineeships available to support an eclectic mix of industry-university linkages. Special interest is focused on affording the opportunity for: Faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students to conduct research and gain experience in an industrial setting; Industrial scientists and engineers to bring industry's perspective and integrative skills to academe; and Interdisciplinary university-industry teams to conduct research projects. This solicitation targets high-risk/high-gain research with a focus on fundamental research, new approaches to solving generic problems, development of innovative collaborative industry-university educational programs, and direct transfer of new knowledge between academe and industry. GOALI seeks to fund transformative research that lies beyond that which industry would normally fund.

Solid-State Lighting

The Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energys (EEREs) Building Technologies (BT) Program, is seeking applications for applied research in the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) US Manufacturing Program. The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to achieve cost reduction of solid-state lighting for general illumination through improvements in manufacturing equipment, processes, or techniques. It is anticipated that success will lead to a more rapid adoption/installation of high-quality SSL products resulting in a significant reduction of energy use and a corresponding reduction of environmental pollutants. A secondary objective is to maintain, in the case of light emitting diodes (LEDs), or establish, in the case of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), the manufacturing and technology base within the US.

PennTAP Energy applications

Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) is accepting applications for participation in a pilot demonstration of an Energy Management System implementation. Find out how you could become one of the country’s first companies qualified to pursue ISO 50001 certification.

In Pennsylvania, PennTAP will assist one manufacturing plant implement an energy management system to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs at a greatly reduced consulting rate (grant subsidized). Letters are due by April 1, 2010.

More details here: http://www.penntap.psu.edu/files/Application_Information.pdf

ARPA-E Energy Innovation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At the inaugural ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit March 2, 2010, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $100 million in Recovery Act funding will be made available to accelerate innovation in green technology, increase America’s competitiveness and create new jobs. Today’s announcement comes as some of the nation’s top energy leaders and members of the scientific research community have gathered to ensure U.S. leadership in clean energy technologies.

“This is about unleashing the American innovation machine to solve the energy and climate challenge, while creating new jobs, new industries and new exports for America’s workers,” said Secretary Chu.

Today’s announcement, the ARPA-E’s third round of funding opportunity, is focused specifically on three technology areas:

The three areas of focus included in today’s funding opportunity are:

1. Grid-Scale Rampable Intermittent Dispatchable Storage (GRIDS). ARPA-E seeks to develop new technologies to enable the widespread deployment of cost-effective grid-scale energy storage. While many valuable applications for grid-scale storage exist, this program focuses on developing energy storage technologies to balance the short-duration variability in renewable generation. By investing in the development of grid-scale energy storage technology, this funding opportunity will allow the U.S. to assume global technology and manufacturing leadership in the emerging and potentially massive global market for stationary electricity storage infrastructure. This program seeks to develop revolutionary new storage systems that provide energy, cost, and cycle life comparable to pumped hydropower, but which are modular and can be widely implemented at any location across the power grid. Specifically, two areas will be considered: 1) proof of concept storage component projects focused on validating new, over-the-horizon electrical energy storage concepts, and 2) advanced system prototypes that address critical shortcomings of existing grid-scale energy storage technologies. Ultimately, technologies developed through this program will be scalable to the megawatt and megawatt-hour levels of power and energy capacity. This program will complement other Department of Energy grid-scale energy storage efforts by focusing on technology prototyping and proof-of-concept R&D efforts rather than pilot demonstration projects.
2. Agile Delivery of Electrical Power Technology (ADEPT). ARPA-E seeks to invest in materials for fundamental advances in soft magnetics, high voltage switches, and reliable, high-density charge storage. These investments will be coupled to advanced circuit architectures, and scalable manufacturing processes with the potential to leapfrog existing power converter performance while offering reductions in cost. Specifically, three categories of performance and integration level will be considered: 1) fully-integrated, chip-scale power converters for applications including, but not limited to, compact, efficient drivers for solid-state lighting, distributed micro-inverters for photovoltaics, and single-chip power supplies for computers, 2) kilowatt scale package integrated power converters by enabling applications such as low-cost, efficient inverters for grid-tied photovoltaics and variable speed motors, and 3) lightweight, solid-state, medium voltage energy conversion for high power applications such as solid-state electrical substations and wind turbine generators. Deploying advanced power electronics could provide as much as a 25-30 percent reduction in electricity consumption – or 12 percent of total U.S. energy consumption. Innovations in power electronics could lead to significant reduction in costs, which would promote U.S. businesses through technological leadership.
3. Building Energy Efficiency Through Innovative Thermodevices (BEET-IT). ARPA-E seeks to develop energy efficient cooling technologies and air conditioners (AC) for buildings to save energy and reduce GHG emissions from: (a) primary energy consumption due to space cooling and (b) refrigerants used in vapor compression systems. ARPA-E seeks innovative research and development approaches to increase energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions due to cooling of buildings in the following areas: 1) cooling systems that use refrigerants with low global warming potential; 2) energy efficient air conditioning (AC) systems for warm and humid climates with an increased coefficient of performance (COP); and 3) vapor compression AC systems for hot climates for re-circulating air loads with an increased COP. The unique challenge for the U.S. market is to develop technologies that can be retrofitted into current cooling systems. For developing economies, there is a large market for new cooling technologies. The development of these technologies will reduce GHG emissions and significantly increase U.S. technological lead in rapidly emerging clean energy industries.

ARPA-E’s first solicitation, announced in early 2009, was highly competitive and resulted in funding 37 projects aimed at transformational innovations in energy storage, biofuels, carbon capture, renewable power, building efficiency, vehicles, and other areas. ARPA-E’s second solicitation announced in December, 2009 – which has yeilded nearly 500 concept papers – focused specifically on three areas of technology representing new approaches for biofuels, carbon capture, and batteries for electric vehicles.

Small Business Innovation grant

Small Business Innovation Research Program invites projects which address the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families. Activities may include: conducting manufacturing-related R&D that encompasses improvements in existing methods or processes, or wholly new processes, machines, or systems; exploring the uses of technology to ensure equal access to education, employment, community environments, and information for individuals with disabilities; and improving the quality and utility of disability and rehabilitation research. Priorities include:

(1) Increased independence of individuals with disabilities in the workplace, recreational settings, or educational settings through the development of technology to support access and promote integration of individuals with disabilities.
(2) Enhanced sensory or motor function of individuals with disabilities through the development of technology to support improved functional capacity.
(3) Enhanced workforce participation through the development of technology to support access to employment, promote sustained employment, and promote employment advancement for individuals with disabilities.
(4) Enhanced community participation and living for individuals with disabilities through the development of accessible information technology including Web access technology, software, and other systems and devices that promote access to information in educational, employment, and community settings, and voting technology that improves access for individuals with disabilities.
(5) Improved interventions and increased use of health-care resources through the development of technology to support independent access to health-care services in the community for individuals with disabilities.

Application deadline is March 15, 2010.

Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative

The Department of Commerce has announced the launch of the Sustainable Business Clearinghouse. The Sustainable Business Clearinghouse is a central portal for information on Federal-level government programs and resources that support sustainable business. This is a searchable database that allows you to structure your query by sustainability issue, industry sector, and type of information. To access the clearinghouse, click here.

$100 million awarded, including auto industry manufacturing

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced nearly $100 million in green jobs training grants, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The grants will support job training programs to help dislocated workers and others, including veterans, women, African Americans and Latinos, find jobs in expanding green industries and related occupations. Approximately $28 million of the total funds will support projects in communities impacted by auto industry restructuring. The full list of awardees is available in the US Department of Labor press release here: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20091526.htm.