DOE Announces REMADE Institute
The REMADE Institute will focus on driving down the cost of technologies needed to reuse, recycle, and remanufacture materials such as metals, fibers, polymers, and electronic waste. It aims to achieve a 50 percent improvement in overall energy efficiency by 2027.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced its new Reducing EMbodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute, which will be headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., and headed by the Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation Alliance. The institute will leverage up to $70 million in federal funding, subject to appropriations, and will be matched by $70 million in private cost-share commitments from more than 100 partners; it is part of the Manufacturing USA initiative.
The REMADE Institute will focus on driving down the cost of technologies needed to reuse, recycle, and remanufacture materials such as metals, fibers, polymers, and electronic waste. It aims to achieve a 50 percent improvement in overall energy efficiency by 2027 -- should this succeed, the result would be billions saved in energy costs and improved U.S. economic competitiveness and jobs, according to the agency.
"The REMADE Institute is a key example of how public-private partnerships like Manufacturing USA are critical to advancing America's low-carbon economy and strengthening manufacturing industries across the country," said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. "This Institute will be an important catalyst to leverage innovation and energy efficient technologies that will reduce harmful emissions while creating jobs and building America's 21st century economy."
DOE reports U.S. manufacturing accounts for nearly 25 percent of the nation's total annual energy use, and the cost-effective technologies that could result from the institute could offer energy savings of up to 1.6 quadrillion BTU annually in the United States, which is more than the electricity, oil, and other energy consumed by New Hampshire, Hawaii, Delaware, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., and Vermont combined.
REMADE is the fifth DOE-led institute in the multiagency network known as Manufacturing USA, which is also known as the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. Established four years ago, Manufacturing USA has grown from one institute to a network of 13 institutes that have attracted more than 1,300 companies, universities, and nonprofits as members.