Last week, President Obama announced that the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC) will lead the new Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, in partnership with the Department of Energy. The winning coalition, headquartered in Los Angeles, California brings together a consortium of nearly 200 partners across more than 30 states from industry, academia, and non-profits to propel advances in smart sensors and digital process controls that can greatly improve the efficiency of U.S. advanced manufacturing. To learn more about SMLC and the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, continue reading!

The Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute will focus on innovations like smart sensors that can dramatically reduce energy expenses in advanced manufacturing. This institute will also launch five regional manufacturing centers across the U.S. and will focus on local technology transfer and workforce development.

The Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute is the ninth manufacturing hub awarded by the Obama Administration. The first manufacturing institute pioneered novel 3D printing technologies in Youngstown, OH while the most recently awarded institute catalyzed developments in advanced fiber and textile technologies in Cambridge, MA. The now nine institutes have attracted nearly 1,000 companies, universities, and non-profits as members of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). The Federal government has committed over $600 million to the nine institutes and has been matched by over $1.2 billion in non-Federal resources.

President Obama also announced the launch of five new manufacturing hub competitions, which will invest in nearly $800 million in combined federal and non-federal resources to support the following topics: robotics in manufacturing environments, advanced tissue biofabrication, modular chemical process intensification, reducing embodied energy and decreasing emissions in materials, and an industry-proposed institute competition. The new competitions are currently underway in an effort for the Administration to meet the President’s goal of an NNMI of 15 institutes across the country before the end of his Administration. The nine institutes are part of an expanding innovation network dedicated to placing the U.S. at the forefront of technological leadership in the next generation of advanced manufacturing.

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