Federal Announcements

The Department of Defense awarded $46.2 million to GreenSource Fabrication LLC (GreenSource) via the Defense Production Act Investment Program. The award will enhance existing production capabilities at a manufacturing facility of state-of-the-art integrated circuits substrate, high-density interconnect and ultra-high-density interconnect, and advanced packaging.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology has awarded nearly $3 million to 15 small businesses in nine states under the Small Business Innovation Research Program. The funding will go to research and development and commercialization projects to support a variety of technology-based programs such as advances in semiconductors, drug development and flexible electronics manufacturing.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program showcased technologies that will keep servicemembers combat effective in extreme temperatures. The event featured technologies generated by the U.S. Department of Defense's Manufacturing Innovation Institute member companies that won the Point-of-Need Manufacturing Challenge held in March 2023 by proposing solutions to the Department's operational constraints in extreme cold temperatures.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced a notice of proposed rulemaking to enhance the National Apprenticeship System by modernizing regulations for Registered Apprenticeships.

The U.S. Department of Energy released a notice of its proposed guidance and a request for public comment on its proposed interpretation of the statutory definition of “foreign entity of concern” (FEOC) in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is designed to limit the participation of FEOCs within domestic battery supply chains, particularly within government-supported programs, and bolster the growth of domestic and friend-shored battery materials processing and manufacturing.

The Department of Defense's Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MII) met with stakeholders to discuss how the manufacturing innovation ecosystem can support the services' modernization efforts at the Organic Industrial Base (OIB) Modernization workshop Oct. 25-26, 2023, in Chicago. Representatives from MIIs attended the workshop to get a better understanding of the current critical needs for modernizing the OIB and the subsequent opportunities to propose technology projects.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that IPC International Inc., a global association of electronics industry manufacturers and suppliers, has established a national Registered Apprenticeship program to develop talent through industry standards and formal certification pathways.

MxD, the digital manufacturing and cybersecurity institute, announced a new partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to advance digital adoption by small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs).

Manufacturing USA is a national network of manufacturing institutes established in 2014 by the multi-agency collaboration that guided its formation. This DCL encourages the submission of research and educational proposals that align with the technical focus areas of the Manufacturing USA Institutes to establish NSF programs in the Directorates for Engineering (ENG), STEM Education (EDU), and Technology Innovation and Partnerships (TIP).

The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a program of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has published a new interactive map to help manufacturers find workforce-related programs and services offered by MEP Centers in every state and Puerto Rico.