ETA 2021 Strategic Plan - Flipbook - Page 23
The Challenge
Science of Manufacturing
Strategic Initiative
Ten-Year Goal
Develop advanced manufacturing processes and
technologies that enable low-carbon solutions for highvolume, high-value chemicals and materials to reach the
marketplace more rapidly.
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The manufacturing sector is rapidly changing.
Inexpensive, abundant, low-carbon feedstocks and
energy carriers, including renewable electricity,
hydrogen, and biomass are enabling novel processes
and materials that have not been attractive in the
existing fossil-fuel-dominated energy paradigm. The
increasing focus on circular supply chains also opens
the potential for innovative product design that
facilitates recyclability and the development of highly
reconvertable or biodegradable materials instead of
single-use consumption that requires energy-intensive,
complicated recycling routes. However, the time from
concept to commercialization must be cut dramatically.
There is a disconnect between new material discovery
and the traditional, empirically based and laborious
Edisonian design, test, and validation routes for
manufacturing optimization.
This initiative seeks to not only close the gap between
discovery and implementation but also to develop
novel manufacturing methodologies and processes
through advanced science-based manufacturing.
Energy Technologies Area (ETA) scientists are
examining the whole lifetime of a system and
leveraging the integration of advanced material
and thermal science, high-performance computing,
chemical process design, and systems analysis. Its
goal is to overcome the traditional discover, scale-up,
and device integration bottlenecks and realize a new
paradigm and mindset in manufacturing science. This
novel approach focuses on innovation and holistic
understanding within the manufacturing methods and
materials used for high-volume or high-value chemicals
with a concentration on decarbonization of the entire
pathway.
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