As expected, the White House today officially announced creation of the Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Advanced Composites, which will be based in Knoxville and managed by the University of Tennessee. The announcement came in conjunction with President Obama’s visit to East Tennessee, including a speech at Pellissippi State Community College and an anticipated stop at Techmer PM in Clinton.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory was instrumental in putting together the proposal that won the hub competition, and Director Thom Mason talked about his excitement about the Department of Energy program in a mid-December interview.
“Headquartered in Knoxville, the latest public-private partnership aimed at boosting advanced manufacturing will focus on making advanced composites less expensive and less energy-intensive to manufacture, while also making the composites easier to recycle,” today’s announcement stated.
The institute will involve a financial investment of $250 million, with $70 million in federal funds and more than $180 million in non-federal funds, according to a news release distributed by the Department of Energy. Here’s a link to a DOE blog and what Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz had to say. Continue reading →