by Shane Henson — March 29, 2013—The Obama Administration is seeking to revitalize America’s manufacturing sector through the launch of the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative (CEMI).
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), this new initiative focuses on growing American manufacturing of clean energy products and boosting U.S. competitiveness through major improvements in manufacturing energy productivity. The initiative includes private sector partnerships, new funding from the DOE, and enhanced analysis of the clean energy manufacturing supply chain that will guide the DOE’s future funding decisions.
The announcement was made at the ribbon cutting of the DOE’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a new advanced manufacturing facility created to help reduce the cost of carbon fiber—a critical material for efficient lightweight vehicles, next-generation wind turbines and energy storage components, and a wide array of other consumer and industrial products.
Building on existing manufacturing investments in efforts like the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility, the DOE’s new Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative (CEMI) is focused on increasing U.S. competitiveness in the production of clean energy technologies and strengthening U.S. manufacturing competitiveness across all sectors by increasing energy productivity. Key elements of the initiative include:
- Increasing funding for clean energy manufacturing research and development that will accelerate U.S.-based manufacturing of cost-competitive clean energy technologies, from wind, solar, and geothermal to batteries and biofuels.
- Providing additional energy productivity training and technical assistance for manufacturers that build on current efforts like the Industrial Assessment Centers that offer no-cost energy efficiency assessments for manufacturers and the Better Plants Challenge.
- Leveraging the capabilities of the DOE’s National Laboratories to conduct targeted analysis that evaluates the U.S. competitive position in manufacturing and prioritizes strategic investments that strengthen American competitiveness in the global energy market.
- Hosting a series of regional and national summits to gather input on manufacturing priorities, identify barriers and opportunities for growing clean energy manufacturing competitiveness, and showcase national and regional models that address these priorities.
- Launching new public-private partnerships focused on improving U.S. clean energy manufacturing competitiveness. For example, the U.S. Council on Competitiveness is partnering with the Energy Department to convene a series of dialogues among government, small business, industry, research institutions, and labor leaders to help develop and recommend strategies for growing the U.S. clean energy manufacturing sector.
