The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 will present as much as $160 million to fund carbon-reducing round economic system expertise and manufacturing hubs throughout the USA in 2025.
To distribute the funding, the U.S. Nationwide Science Basis created the “NSF Engines Awards,” which might be given to profitable candidates early subsequent yr. The awards will fund “groundbreaking applied sciences in subject areas as various as semiconductors, biotechnology and superior manufacturing whereas stimulating regional job development and financial growth,” based on the NSF.
In what the NSF is asking the “growth part” of the awards, one of many finalists, the Generate Superior Manufacturing Excellence for Change Engine (GAME Change) of Kentucky and Tennessee, obtained $1 million. GAME Change is a coalition of teachers, researchers and personal trade executives who wish to establish wasteful manufacturing practices, unconnected delivery chains, and unexploited new applied sciences. They hope to supply a useful resource base in order that one firm’s waste can develop into one other’s uncooked materials, improvements could be unfold extra shortly between firms, and to incubate low- and no-carbon startups by the 2 states.
GAME Change — and 43 different finalists — will use the $1 million awarded to every to develop an software for the total $160 million.
The Kentucky-Tennessee freight hall
GAME Change represents the Southeastern Hall of the USA, positioned in Kentucky and Tennessee, an vital freight hall, based on Ian McClure, director of the GAME Change coalition and affiliate vice chairman for analysis, innovation and financial impression on the College of Kentucky. He was talking at GreenBiz’s Circularity 24 convention.
“Individuals don’t notice that 4 of the most important logistics hubs within the nation are in Kentucky and Tennessee,” mentioned McClure, referring to UPS Worldport in Louisville, the DHL and Amazon air hubs, and the FedEx World Hub airport in Memphis. “The Federal Freeway Administration has mentioned that by 2040, Kentucky and Tennessee could have extra freight tonnage flowing by them than every other states,” mentioned McClure.
It’s this mecca of delivery logistics that McClure needs to rework right into a net-zero, round manufacturing economic system, earlier than it’s too late.
To realize this, McClure hosted a summit in March 2024 attended by teachers from a variety of establishments — together with Vanderbilt College, College of Kentucky, and Tennessee State College — and executives from greater than 40 firms. The summit mentioned “the applied sciences that we wish to advance to verify closed-loop round manufacturing could be finished at scale.”
A kind of firms is the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. McClure defined that the airport is planning to behave as a liaison between GAME Change and DHL and Amazon, speaking the logistical wants of the 2 firms.
However GAME Change isn’t solely specializing in provide chains. “A variety of that is to verify we will create new entry to issues like automation robotics for disassembly and make [sure] that’s inexpensive and accessible,” mentioned McClure. “Personalized robotics will not be low-cost and most small producers can’t entry it.”
February 2025 deadline
In the meantime, the submission date for the total $160 million in funding is barely eight months away.
“The [NSF] put us on a timeline and mentioned our proposal must be in by February 2025, with the preliminary proposal due by August of this yr,” mentioned McClure. Of the 44 semi-finalists, solely 10 might be chosen to obtain any of the $160 million.
By that point, the U.S. will both be beneath a second time period of the Biden administration or a brand new Trump presidency. Both method, McClure isn’t apprehensive about funding drying up.
“It seems that competing with China on a world innovation scale is one thing that has bipartisan help,” mentioned McClure. His assertion is backed by the lately launched Americas Act, co-sponsored by Senators Invoice Cassidy (R-LA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), which funds home manufacturing of textiles and gives as much as $90 billion to firms for “reshoring,” or the domestication manufacturing companies.
If GAME Change fails to obtain the NSF Engine Award, McClure informed GreenBiz that the coalition’s efforts is not going to finish.
“We have now a GAME Change alliance that we’re going to be launching quickly that’s going to have a membership mannequin with principally a fee-based method to develop a sustainability mannequin,” he mentioned. Whereas receiving the funding would guarantee your entire proposal is roofed, the membership fee-model would guarantee companies that GAME Change can nonetheless ship.
Learn extra about GAME Change’s plan right here.