by Brianna Crandall — June 22, 2016 — Throughout this week, the Obama Administration is highlighting America’s capacity for creativity and invention, and how it has given strength and durability to the economy. As part of this effort, President Obama is making several announcements in relation to smart manufacturing.
Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute
On Monday, at the third annual SelectUSA Summit in Washington, DC, before an audience of business leaders, economic development officials, and investors from around the world, President Obama announced that the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC) was selected to 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 from across academia, industry, and nonprofits, hailing from more than 30 states. The coalition aims to spur advances in smart sensors, data analytics and digital process controls while reducing the cost of these technologies by half and radically improving the efficiency of U.S. advanced manufacturing.
The Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, the ninth manufacturing hub awarded by the Obama Administration, will also launch five regional manufacturing centers across the United States, each focused on local technology transfer and workforce development.
Manufacturing hub competitions
The President also announced the launch of five new manufacturing hub competitions, which will invest nearly $800 million in combined federal and non-federal resources to support transformative manufacturing technologies from collaborative robotics to biofabrication of cells and tissues, to revolutionizing the ways materials can be reused and recycled.
With the new competitions underway, the Administration is on track to meet the President’s goal of a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) of 15 institutes underway across the country before the end of his Administration.
After a decade of decline from 2000 to 2010, the U.S. manufacturing sector has added over 800,000 jobs since February 2010 and remains more competitive for jobs and investment today compared to recent decades. And just last month, a new survey of CEOs from around the world declared the United States the most attractive country for investment for the fourth year in a row.
For more information, see the DOE/White House Fact Sheet on the announcement and initiatives, and visit Manufacturing.gov.
