The US Department of Energy would provide $120 million over the next three years to develop new manufacturing processes and materials that use less energy, the agency said Friday.
The funds are part of a broader effort to revitalize US manufacturing that President Barack Obama announced earlier Friday.
"These investments will support the innovations that American manufacturers need to stay competitive in the global marketplace," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement. "These breakthrough manufacturing processes, technologies, and materials will help American companies to reduce energy waste and lower costs."
The funds will go to about 35 to 50 projects aimed at developing new processes and materials that can be put into commercial use in the next five to seven years. Applied research and proof-of-concept projects will be eligible for $1 million grants and must be completed within two years. Projects closer to commercialization could receive up to $9 million over three years.
During a speech at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh Friday, Obama touted his new Advanced Manufacturing Partnership initiative, which he said is aimed at sparking a manufacturing renaissance in the US by having the federal government support manufacturing across a range of industries.
The partnership includes several top engineering universities, such as Carnegie Mellon and Stanford, as well as high-tech manufacturers such as Honeywell and Johnson & Johnson. It will be led by Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris and MIT President Susan Hockfield.
"The concept of advanced manufacturing is not complicated," Obama said. "It means how do we do things better, faster, cheaper to design and manufacture superior products that allow us to compete all over the world."
