Winner of New Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, New MII Competitions Announced

President Obama announced  the creation of the new Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (Smart MII) – a $140 million public-private partnership to develop smart sensors for use in advanced manufacturing. Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC) – a consortium of nearly 200 partners from academia and industry as well as nonprofit organizations – will lead the Smart MII. The Smart MII is the ninth MII awarded by the Obama administration. The president also announced five additional MII competitions, which are intended to invest nearly $800 million in combined federal and non-federal resources to support transformative manufacturing technologies in four areas:

• Robotics in Manufacturing Environments Manufacturing Innovation;
• Advanced Tissue Biofabrication Manufacturing Innovation Institute;
• Modular Chemical Process Intensification (MCPI) Institute; and,
• Reducing Embodied Energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) in Materials Manufacturing Institute.

The fifth manufacturing institute will be an “open topic” institute competition – any topic proposed by industry not already addressed by an MII. By the end of his term, President Obama intends to have 15 funded MIIs.

Of the five proposed MIIs, two have been publicly solicited and are accepting applications via federal funding announcements (FOAs) – the Advanced Tissue Biofabrication Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ATB-MII) and the Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Reducing Embodied--Energy of Materials and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) in Manufacturing. As with the existing MIIs, lead institutions’ eligibility for both FOAs are restricted to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations. However, the lead institution is encouraged to partner with other entities (e.g., government and for-profit organizations).

The Department of Defense will commit up to $80 million to support the new ATB-MII to pioneer next-generation manufacturing techniques for repairing and replacing cells and tissues, which may one day lead to the ability to manufacture new skin for soldiers scarred from combat or to produce life-saving organs for the many Americans currently stuck on transplant waiting lists. Applications for the ATB-MMII are due October 18. Read the FOA…

To establish and sustain the REMADE MII, the Department of Energy will commit up to $70 million to support R&D activities that reduce the total lifetime use of energy in manufactured materials by developing new cradle-to-cradle technologies for the reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing of manmade materials. Applications are due September 28. Read the FOA…

As each of the three remaining FOAs are released, SSTI will make sure to share them with members first through the SSTI Funding Supplement. SSTI also will publish them in the SSTI Digest, so stay tuned!