Federal Announcements

The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) has made one cooperative agreement award totaling $1,000,000 as part of its 2021-NIST-MEP-CAP-01 Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs). GENEDGE Alliance (GENEDGE), the MEP Center in Virginia, will lead a project, the Medical Manufacturer MedAccred Accreditation Pathway (MedMMAP Phase III).

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is awarding a $1.1 million grant to Gaston College in Dallas, North Carolina, to support expansion of the school’s Textile Technology Center. This grant will provide for the purchase of new equipment to support the needs of existing textile and apparel firms, strengthening the talent pipeline, and promoting entrepreneurial opportunities in a region impacted by changes in the energy economy.

The Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration is awarding a $2 million grant to the city of Etowah, Tennessee, for redevelopment of the local water treatment plant. This grant will provide for the establishment of a new manufacturing facility that will support the electric vehicle and battery storage industries, in a region impacted by changes in the energy economy.

Through the Future Manufacturing program, the U.S. National Science Foundation makes targeted investments in the future of manufacturing research and helps grow the manufacturing workforce. It is one of several NSF programs that support advanced manufacturing. The Future Manufacturing program's purpose is to discover manufacturing solutions that overcome current scientific, technological, educational, economic, and social barriers to provide new manufacturing capabilities for U.S. companies.

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced the first Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) investment of $18.8 million to 27 teams at U.S. institutions of higher education. The ExLENT program aims to expand practical learning opportunities for individuals interested in entering or gaining more experience in key technologies, such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science and semiconductors and microelectronics.

The Department of Defense awarded six Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP) grants totaling approximately $30 million from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. The DMCSP makes long-term investments in critical skills, facilities, workforce development, research and development, and small business support to strengthen the national security innovation base.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) office, issued an award to E-VAC Magnetics, LLC (E-VAC) to establish a domestic rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing capability. E-VAC is part of VAC Group, a manufacturer of rare earth permanent magnets.

A $72.5 million investment from the U.S. National Science Foundation will drive the design, discovery and development of advanced materials needed to address major societal challenges. The Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) program will fund 37 new four-year projects. DMREF projects include industrial partnerships to facilitate technology translation and train the future U.S. workforce in materials development and deployment.

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced 24 research and education projects with a total investment of $45.6 million to enable rapid progress in new semiconductor technologies and manufacturing as well as workforce development. The projects are supported by the NSF Future of Semiconductors (FuSe) program through a public-private partnership spanning NSF and four companies.

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 guide to help manufacturers find workforce-related programs and services offered by MEP Centers in every state and Puerto Rico.