I’m excited to share that earlier this morning, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DoE) Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) program just announced the selectees for the State Manufacturing Leadership Program (BIL 40534)!
With $22 million in funding provided by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the twelve selected state-run programs will make smart manufacturing technologies and high-performance computing more accessible by domestic manufacturing firms. The State Manufacturing Leadership Program aims to remove existing barriers that prevent innovative, data-driven tools and technologies from being used by small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs).
Additional information about the selections, with fact sheets for each selected state, can be found below.
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- Through new and expanded programs, these States are leading the way to make smart manufacturing technologies and high performance computing more accessible to domestic manufacturing firms.
- Selected States: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
- SMMs account for approximately 99 percent of U.S. manufacturing enterprises, contributing more than $1 trillion in gross revenue, and providing more than five million U.S. jobs. But domestic SMMs often fall behind larger firms in their technology investments. The result is that the largest manufacturers’ labor productivity is 58 percent higher than their middle-sized counterparts; a significant part of this gap is explained by small firms’ lack of technology adoption.
- Smart manufacturing is essential – it’s defined as – draw on simplified version of paragraph in parenthesis (Smart manufacturing advances interconnectivity to improve production and increase the overall efficiency of the manufacturing process. These fully integrated and collaborative manufacturing systems respond in real time to changing demands and conditions in production facilities and within the supply network. High-performance computing can enable dramatically faster and more accurate modeling, simulation, and data analysis to solve technological problems and reduce costly “trial and error” steps during development. The majority of SMMs currently do not employ smart manufacturing or high-performance computing technologies due to expensive costs, and a mismatch between staffing and access to training resources.
- Through the programs, 3,500 small and medium manufacturers are going to access technical assistance in smart manufacturing training; financial assistance to facilitate SMMs’ access to and implementation of smart manufacturing and high-performance computing resources and technologies; and securing partnerships with labor unions and other stakeholders to expand and diversify the smart manufacturing talent pool.