Image: US.DOE Vehicle Technologies Program, photo courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
Source: Press materials
Tennessee is the Site for the IACMI
20 Jan, 2015
The University of Tennessee will lead the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI, a $259 million public-private partnership. The Institute reflects a $70 million commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and $189 million from IACMI’s partners.
The announcement was made in early January by President by Barack Obama.
The institute will focus on advanced fiber-reinforced polymer composites that combine strong fibers with tough plastics to yield materials that are lighter and stronger than steel.
While advanced composites are used in selected industries such as aircraft, military vehicles, satellites, and luxury cars, these materials remain expensive, require large amounts of energy to manufacture, and are difficult to recycle. IACMI aims to overcome these barriers by developing low-cost, high-production, energy-efficient manufacturing and recycling processes for the composites sector.
IACMI includes founding partners in Tennessee (University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Colorado (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), Indiana (Purdue University), Michigan (Michigan State University), Ohio (University of Dayton Research Institute), and Kentucky (University of Kentucky).
