Biden Announces New Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation in Detroit
While speaking in Detroit last week, Vice President Joe Biden announced the creation of an Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IAMCI) location in Detroit, aimed at creating better composite materials for wind turbines, compressed gas storage, and in particular, the automotive industry. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan State University will serve as the primary academic partner for the IAMCI consortium, which consists of 122 members across six states: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. According to a press release from Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, the IACMI’s open-access pilot manufacturing test facility and technology development and demonstration programs will be driven by major industry participation.
The institute will be co-located at the Institute for Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT) facility in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. LIFT, which was announced in early 2014 as part of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) initiative, focuses on coordinating public and private investment around emerging advanced manufacturing technologies. Led by the University of Michigan, along with Ohio State University and the Columbus, Ohio-based manufacturing technology Edison Welding Institute, LIFT will be funded with a $70 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense and $78 million from a consortium of 70-plus universities, businesses and organizations.
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