Congresswoman Slaughter Launches Campaign to Secure a New Federal Manufacturing Institute
WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (NY-25) today urged Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to support a Rochester Institute of Technology-led proposal for a new public-private clean energy manufacturing institute. College officials, on behalf of academic and industrial partners from around the country, submitted a proposal on September 28th under the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) program to create a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute. This consortium will leverage Rochester’s expertise as a global leader in manufacturing innovation to reduce the amount of energy and emissions associated with manufacturing. The winning consortium will match the federal award of $70 million for a total investment of at least $140 million over five years. A decision is expected at the end of the year.
“Our community is home to some of the brightest minds and hardest working industry leaders anywhere in the country. There is no better place to locate a new manufacturing institute than Rochester. RIT is already a national leader in sustainable manufacturing, and it is now leading an alliance of over one hundred world-class research universities, national labs, and industry partners that has developed a strong proposal to create this new institute. I’m urging Secretary Moniz to support this proposal to help create jobs and take advantage of our community’s global leadership in manufacturing innovation,” said Slaughter.
The NNMI program – now known as Manufacturing USA – invests federal resources together with private and non-federal funds to build up the nation’s advanced manufacturing capabilities through creating an initial network of up to 15 new institutes. Existing institutes include AIM Photonics and others focused on lightweight metals, flexible materials, 3D printing, smart sensors, and more. Slaughter has been a champion of the overall program and recently led an effort to secure funding to launch new institutes.
The Department of Energy began soliciting proposals in June for the creation of a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute that would help further technologies designed to conserve energy and reduce emissions. The goal of the RIT-led consortium is to create novel approaches to more efficient material use, reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing.
RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS) is already a leader in sustainable manufacturing and remanufacturing. Led by Dr. Nabil Nasr, GIS is already home to considerable expertise and infrastructure in sustainable manufacturing. In addition to leading universities and national labs, the RIT-led consortium is joined by industry partners including Xerox and Caterpillar.
A copy of Slaughter’s letter to Secretary Moniz is online here and included below:
October 5, 2016
The Honorable Ernest Moniz
Secretary of Energy
1000 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, D.C. 20585
Dear Secretary Moniz,
I write to extend my strong support for an application for the Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Reducing EMbodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE), which was submitted by Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) on behalf of academic and industrial partners from around the country.
As you are fully aware, U.S. manufacturing contributes to 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and supports 12 million jobs that are critical to our nation’s global economic competiveness. Having a highly efficient manufacturing sector that continues to maximize product output, while limiting energy and environmental impacts, is key to maintaining and expanding our current global economic position. We must support opportunities that encourage American ingenuity, which has underpinned our country’s ability to thrive as one of the most innovative and productive countries in the world. A Department of Energy-led institute focused on sustainable manufacturing offers a unique opportunity to bring the brightest minds in academia, industry, and at the national labs together to bolster our position as a global leader in manufacturing innovation, while also driving economic growth, job creation, and U.S. competiveness.
Led by RIT, a group of over one-hundred world-class research universities, national labs, and industrial partners have joined together to form the Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation Alliance (SMIA) to leverage the brightest minds and technical capabilities in sustainable manufacturing research, development and commercialization. With the strong support of its industry partners, SMIA’s proposal has secured robust funding commitments greater than the one-to-one cost share ratio required. It is my belief that the SMIA proposal provides the Department the best chance to make a transformational investment to create an end-to-end integrated sustainable manufacturing ecosystem.
Your service to our country and commitment to our nation’s manufacturing policy are deeply appreciated. I offer my strong support for the RIT-led application and thank you for your full and fair consideration.
Sincerely,
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter
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