Donnelly Announces New Manufacturing Innovation Hub that Includes Purdue

Press Release

U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly today announced that Purdue University is part of a team of research universities, manufacturers, and state economic development agencies that will receive $70 million in federal funding to study next-generation composite materials and their application towards developing more energy-efficient cars, wind energy infrastructure, and compressed gas storage. In June 2014, Donnelly sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy in support of Purdue's application for funding.

The $70 million from the U.S. Department of Energy will be added to the more than $180 million already pledged by industry and other partners to fund the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) led by and headquartered at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The federal investment is part of an initiative to create a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.

Donnelly said, "Purdue University remains a leader in the development of energy-saving technologies. The IACMI will take great strides to increase the applicability of advanced composites, which are materials that have the potential to increase our energy efficiency while at the same time cutting costs. This means fewer dollars sent overseas for foreign oil and more dollars invested right here at home. I congratulate Purdue on their participation and wish them success in this project."

The IACMI will focus its research on developing low-cost advanced composites, which are materials that are three times as strong and twice as light as the lightest metals. By lowering the costs of these materials, the IACMI hopes to broaden their use in support of lighter weight vehicles, lighter and longer wind turbine blades, high pressure tanks for natural gas-fueled cars, and lighter, more efficient industrial equipment. The IACMI hopes to lower the overall manufacturing costs of advanced composites by 50 percent.

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