The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)鈥檚 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy publicly announced its decision to renew funding for its Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), one of DOE鈥檚 six existing Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institutes. IACMI will be receiving federal funding across five fiscal years, with a first-year investment of $6 million to further technological R&D and accelerate commercialization in the domestic composites manufacturing sector. This federal funding builds upon initial institute funding of $70 million from DOE and over $180 million from IACMI鈥檚 member partners.
鈥淚ACMI is proof that when we connect our nation鈥檚 leading experts across the manufacturing value chain to listen, learn, and share ideas and best practices, we can have a big impact,鈥 said DOE鈥檚 Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Alejandro Moreno. 鈥淭he Department is committed to seeing how IACMI will continue to leverage that collaborative spirit into actionable and innovative progress as our partnership continues.鈥
Established in 2015, IACMI is a public-private partnership created between DOE and the University of Tennessee to develop clean energy solutions and catalyze manufacturing competitiveness across the U.S. advanced composite ecosystem. During its eight-year history, IACMI has built a network that has served more than 150 partners, facilitating the creation of more than 3,000 jobs, and training more than 2,000 people in the composites manufacturing workforce.