Department of Energy Dedicates $30 Million to Advance the Domestic Production of Large Near-Net Shape Manufacturing Components

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) that supports innovation to boost the domestic production of large metallic near net shape (NNS) components. The FOA, led by EERE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, will impact a broad cross-section of the U.S. manufacturing sector including renewable power generation, transportation, industrial machinery, heavy equipment, and domestic infrastructure.

At present, approximately 95% of U.S. renewable power generation relies on large (10+ ton) metallic components, which can be produced through NNS manufacturing. By producing NNS parts close to their final or ‘net’ shape, NNS manufacturing reduces the amount of raw material required for manufacturing these components and also reduces the required post-processing operations.

However, the U.S. domestic manufacturing base currently lacks the capacity to competitively produce these large-scale components. This directly results in a continued reliance on foreign supply chains to produce critical systems.

This FOA will also address the advanced manufacturing technology challenges identified in the 2022 “National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing.” Given the urgency to deploy these technologies, identifying pathways that accelerate the timeline from technology development to commercialization will be central to these projects.

EERE envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards, ranging from $5 million to $15 million per award, in the form of cooperative agreements. The estimated period of performance for each award will be approximately two to three years.

Concept papers are due May 11, 2023 at 5 P.M. ET.

View the full funding opportunity.

Learn more about AMMTO and its work to advance energy-related materials and manufacturing technologies to increase domestic competitiveness and build a secure and reliable energy economy.