NIST Seeks Industry-Driven Manufacturing Tech Roadmaps; Mike Molnar Quoted

The National Institute of Standards and Technology plans to award eight, 18-month grants worth potentially $5.4 million combined for the development of strategies to drive innovation in the domestic manufacturing sector.

NIST said Thursday it will accept proposals for the Manufacturing USA Technology Roadmaps program through Aug. 16, 2021, from interested parties in the for-profit and nonprofit, higher education and nonfederal government sectors.

The agency does not require cost-sharing for MfgTech projects and expects offerors to form partnerships across a business ecosystem that will combine knowledge or skills in managing supply networks, facilities or specialized goods and services.

“The Manufacturing USA institutes have demonstrated that consortia can play a key role in developing and transitioning new manufacturing technologies critical to America’s future competitiveness,” said Mike Molnar, director of tNIST’s advanced manufacturing office.

NIST’s MfgTech program is seeking roadmaps to help manufacturers address technological limits, maintain technology infrastructure and determine long-term industrial research requirements.

The departments of Commerce, Defense and Energy sponsor Manufacturing USA institutes that help more than 2,000 organizations to connect with one another and transition ideas from the laboratory to industrial settings.

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