DOE released a $33 million funding opportunity to accelerate the advancement of smart manufacturing technologies and processes necessary to develop and deploy the innovative technologies and materials needed for the nation’s clean energy transition. Smart manufacturing is the use of advanced technologies and processes—including digitalization and artificial intelligence—to improve the technical performance, productivity, quality assurance, and security of the manufacturing sector.

Recipients of funding from this opportunity will support research to develop smart manufacturing technologies that improve the efficiency and economics of circular supply chains; advance sustainable transportation manufacturing; accelerate the development of high-performance materials for the clean energy transition; and create more sustainable, safe, and competitive mining in the United States.

Topic 1: Smart Manufacturing for a Circular Economy – This topic focuses on smart manufacturing solutions that increase the viability of circular supply chains (Re-X pathways), such as recycling, repairing, remanufacturing, and reuse, by improving their efficiency and economics. This includes:

• Area of Interest 1: Smart Manufacturing Technologies for Improved Sorting and Characterization. Improving the ability to identify, sort, and characterize materials to facilitate recovery and recycling of these materials into new products.
• Area of Interest 2: Interoperable and Open Supply Chains for Expanded Re-X. Fostering more interoperable and open supply chains to help repair or remanufacturing products not initially designed for Re-X (reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, or repurpose).
• Area of Interest 3. Improved Data Transparency for Accurate Lifecycle Assessments. Enhancing the availability and transparency of data critical to bolstering market acceptance of secondary materials.

Topic 2: Smart Manufacturing of Tooling and Equipment for Sustainable Transportation – This topic focuses on smart manufacturing technologies that make tooling and equipment for sustainable vehicles faster and more economically, while reducing component defects and enabling new functionalities. In the context of this FOA, sustainable transportation refers to electric vehicles (based on either batteries or fuel cells across all vehicle types from automobiles to fleets to all truck classes). This includes:

• Area of Interest 1: Automation. Integrating hardware and software systems into manufacturing tooling and equipment to improve component productivity.
• Area of Interest 2: Manufacturing Asset Management for Improving System Performance. Improving the performance (cost, quality, and throughput) of the tooling and equipment, industrial controls, and automation network.

Topic 3: Smart Manufacturing for High-Performance Materials – This topic focuses on developing, validating, and prototyping new high-performance materials (HPMs) and their manufacturing processes. Of particular interest are manufacturing processes and fabrication techniques for HPMs for the clean energy transition, such as high-conductivity materials and materials for harsh service conditions. This includes:

• Area of Interest 1: High-Performance Materials and Process Discovery. Developing high throughput strategies for conductivity-enhanced and harsh environment materials synthesis/testing, used in conjunction with computational tools.
• Area of Interest 2: High-Performance Materials Manufacturing, Assembly and Scaleup. Creating competitive manufacturing and assembly approaches that utilize a variety of smart manufacturing tools in materials manufacturing.

Topic 4: Smart Technologies for Sustainable and Competitive U.S. Mining – This topic focuses on developing novel smart manufacturing technologies that can be applied to create more sustainable, safe, and competitive mining in the United States. Fostering advancements in mining will enable a more resilient, diverse, and secure domestic supply of critical minerals and materials. This includes:

• Area of Interest 1: Sustainable and Competitive Domestic Mining. Establishing smart manufacturing technologies such as sensors, controls, and automation that can provide health, safety, environmental, and economic benefits to mining operations.
• Area of Interest 2: Sensing, Analytics, and Data-Driven Decision Making in Mining. Advancing new and transformative mining technologies that offer significant benefits over the current commercially available state-of-the-art analytical instruments and sensors and are more accessible and affordable.