SSTI Digest

In a move to strengthen the domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announced $2.8 billion for 20 companies in 12 states to extract and process battery materials and manufacture components while creating good-paying jobs. The projects will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will be matched by recipients to leverage more than $9 billion for the production of clean energy. DOE reports that the funding is the first phase of $7 billion in total provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strengthen the domestic battery supply chain by supporting upstream materials processing to create the precursor materials for batteries. Additional funding opportunities are expected to be forthcoming to continue to fill gaps in and strengthen the domestic battery supply chain.  Of the 20 companies selected, five will build new facilities in disadvantaged communities, and 15 in locations adjacent to disadvantaged communities. President Biden also announced the launch of the American Battery Material Initiative, an effort to align federal investments and activities, domestic and…

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) recently announced its largest POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative funding package. This funding package awards nearly $47 million to 52 projects in 181 counties to support economic diversification and mitigate job losses from coal-related industries in Appalachian communities.  The $47 million investment will support new and existing industries like agriculture, tourism, and entrepreneurship and invest in workforce development and skills training programs to counteract the negative impacts of the declining coal industry. These projects are largely successful, according to an evaluation from Chamberlin/Dunn, which found that many projects funded by the POWER Initiative exceeded output targets and that ARC’s investments have helped create or retain over 39,600 jobs. This announcement marks the second award announcement for the ARC POWER Initiative this year. The first took place in March 2022 and awarded almost $21 million to POWER projects. With both announcements, the ARC POWER Initiative has funded nearly $68 million worth of projects in FY 2022. Since the…

SSTI is pleased to announce a new project with the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to build a Community of Practice focused on EDA’s important technology-based economic development (TBED) investment priority area. This new partnership will help regions across the entire country become more resilient, more equitable, and more competitive in the global innovation-centered economy. SSTI and EDA’s shared mission for this community is to improve the impacts, outcomes and effectiveness of EDA’s strategic investments in local and regional capacity to support science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. “Technology is changing the face of the global economy and technology-based economic development is among EDA’s key investment priorities,” said Alejandra Y. Castillo, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development in a statement announcing the award. “The TBED CoP will advance an ideal synthesis of vision and practice to foster entrepreneurship and catalyze innovation.” EDA’s four-year investment and collaboration with SSTI will enable the nation’s TBED community to grow in new ways, extending the benefits of the innovation economy…

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced 11 additional states whose SSBCI plans have been approved: Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Utah. This is in addition to the 20 states that have been approved this year: California, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, West Virginia, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Colorado, Montana, New York, North Carolina and Oregon. Funds aim to make capital more accessible for underserved communities and increase economic growth and opportunity. Alaska has been approved to receive $59.9 million across four state programs. The largest program of the four is the Alaska Loan Guarantee Program, which will receive $32 million and aims to provide funding to small businesses that have decreased revenue, according to Alaska’s News Source. In addition to the loan guarantee program, $15.9 million will be allocated toward a loan participation program, $10 million will go towards an equity and venture capital program and $2 million will be allocated to a collateral fund program. Idaho has been approved for…

Creating a vison for United States leadership in advanced manufacturing, the National Science and Technology Council has released a strategy to grow the economy, create jobs, enhance environmental sustainability, address climate change, strengthen supply chains, ensure national security, and improve healthcare for the next four years. The 2022 National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing, developed by the Subcommittee on Advanced Manufacturing (SAM), provides a number of recommendations to help achieve those goals. The strategy report outlines three interrelated goals: 1) Develop and implement advanced manufacturing technologies; 2) Grow the advanced manufacturing workforce; and, 3) Build resilience into manufacturing supply chains. In support of these goals, SAM established 11 different objectives to pursue over the next four years, including introducing more sustainable manufacturing in support of decarbonization, expediting innovation for semiconductors, supporting the bioeconomy through advanced manufacturing and developing stronger connections between employers and education institutions. More information is available on the Manufacturing USA website.…

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science recently announced new requirements for all research proposal applications. Applicants must submit a plan for Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research — or PIER Plan — with their research proposal during the solicitation process. The PIER Plans will be required beginning in FY 2023 and will require investigators to describe strategies to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in all research projects. Larger research teams will be expected to provide more detailed PIER Plans. A new merit review criterion will evaluate these PIER Plans during the peer review process. These new requirements were developed following a systematic review of the Office of Science and were based on recommendations from peer reviews and community listening sessions. The Office of Science identified various barriers for underrepresented groups from these reviews and recognized over 40 opportunities to broaden participation. The Office of Science also updated the requirement for conference proposals, requiring a code of conduct to address discrimination, harassment or any other exclusionary practice, and an accessibility plan…

On the closing days of the previous federal fiscal year and with an Oct. 21 deadline looming for new proposals, the National Science Foundation announced the first 24 awards for a new program to support “Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems” (OSE). NSF’s goal is to exploit the advantages of using open-source development to find technological solutions to problems of national and societal importance. According to the program’s website, the goal is “to fund new OSE managing organizations, each responsible for the creation and maintenance of infrastructure needed for efficient and secure operation of an OSE based around a specific open-source product or class of products.” Rather than funding the development of new open-source products, NSF is striving to aid the creation and sustenance of OSE hubs, using a two-phase structure. Twenty-three of the recently announced awards are all $300,000 or less and will support one-year, Phase I conceptual development and planning awards to build OSEs. The final award announced is for a $2 million OSE training and network management program to be run by the University of California-Berkeley. While hoping to ramp up…

A total of $47 million has been awarded to 51 organizations by the U.S. Economic Development Administration to support programs that accelerate innovation and tech-based economic development as part of the Build to Scale program,  U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced yesterday. The 2022 awardees will leverage an additional $48 million in matching funds from private and public sector sources. SSTI has been an advocate of the Build to Scale program, which did not receive federal appropriations prior to the creation of the SSTI Innovation Advocacy Council. The 51 organizations are from 31 different states and include venture development organizations, state agencies, nonprofits, academic institutions, and other entrepreneurship-focused organizations. The FY 2022 Build to Scale program was comprised of two competitions –– the Venture Challenge, which “supports programs that enable high-growth technology entrepreneurship and foster inclusive access to proven entrepreneurship support models,” and the Capital Challenge, which “increases access to capital in communities where risk capital is in short supply by providing operational support for early-stage…

Citing an 85-year record of promoting higher quality training and worker protection standards, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has rescinded the short-lived Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP) in favor of the established Registered Apprenticeship (RA) program. DOL found the IRAP program, instituted in 2017 , to be “a duplicative, lower-quality system that was not in the best interest of workers and industries.” DOL issued the final rule after President Biden directed federal agencies to review former President Trump’s Executive Order 13801 that established IRAPs. Biden had revoked the order in February 2021, and directed a review of the order and that any entities that had been established under the order be abolished, as appropriate and consistent with the law. The DOL stated in its release concerning the change that it would work with the third-party entities (known as Standard Recognition Entities or SREs) that had been authorized to evaluate and extend recognition to IRAPs  that “will work with previously recognized SREs and IRAPs to explore opportunities to become program sponsors or intermediaries in the RA system and will provide…

As Manufacturing Week kicks off on Friday, Oct. 7, the U.S. Census Bureau and Manufacturing USA are providing valuable manufacturing statistics and data to help inform policymakers and businesses, while also highlighting careers in the industry. The Bureau features many different resources that share statistics, infographics, webinars, and past stories that detail different aspects of the progress being made in manufacturing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, close to 22,000 people started jobs in manufacturing this August, and 67,000 more people are working in manufacturing jobs than before the pandemic. As part of the celebration, some of the strides in manufacturing made by women in the industry are being highlighted. According to Census Bureau data, the share of women in manufacturing rose in every working-age category from 2010 until the pandemic hit in 2020. However, 2021 data show the numbers returning to pre-Covid levels, with women ages 55 to 64 going into manufacturing jobs increasing from 8.6% pre-pandemic to 9.1% in 2021.  Women also held about 25% of the managerial positions in manufacturing and earned 16% more compared to…

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced 44 FAST awards, including 12 new awards,  totaling over $5.4 million, with each up to $125,000 for specialized training, mentoring, and technical assistance for research and development. The goal of the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program is to strengthen the competitiveness of small businesses and startups to improve Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program outcomes. This year’s $5.4 million is an increase of nearly $1.5 million over the prior fiscal year and an increase of nearly $3.5 million since 2010. SSTI's Innovation Advocacy Council has made it a priority over the past few years to encourage Congress to increase funding for FAST. During FY 2021 and 2022, FAST received $10 million in appropriations — following just $3 million in each of the preceding three fiscal years — and Congress has proposed greater increases for FY 2023 ($10 million in the Senate, and $8 million in the House). To learn more about the Innovation Advocacy Council and SSTI's work on the Hill, contact Jason Rittenberg (rittenberg@…

The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) — a nonprofit working to grow Georgia’s economy through supporting research at state universities — recently announced that its portfolio of companies had raised more than over $2 billion in venture capital. These startups also had a high survival rate — 88% were still in business four years after launch, outpacing the national average of 44%. Along with this announcement, GRA released 2021 data on their economic impact on the state, demonstrating growth from the previous year. GRA’s portfolio now contains 226 startups, up from 195 in 2020. Additionally, these companies currently employ 1,710 professionals, a 22% increase from 2020, generated over $153 million in revenue and attracted over $37 million in public and private grants in 2021. The venture development program at GRA supports Georgia researchers at state universities by helping them bring inventions to market. They do so by providing seed grants, loans, and business counsel. GRA provides investments at an early stage when researchers have developed a proof of concept but still need to show market viability. Most invested projects — six out of 10 — eventually become…