Department of Energy Announces $120 Million to Support Development of Innovative Manufacturing Processes

President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, including an investment of up to $120 million from the Department of Energy over three years to develop transformational manufacturing technologies and innovative materials that could enable industrial facilities to dramatically increase their energy efficiency. The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership is a national effort bringing together industry, universities and the federal government to invest in emerging technologies that will create high quality manufacturing jobs and enhance our global competitiveness. This clean energy investment in new energy-efficient manufacturing processes and novel materials will help U.S. manufacturers save money by reducing the energy needed to power their facilities. President Obama made the announcement this morning at an event at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
"These investments will support the innovations that American manufacturers need to stay competitive in the global marketplace," said Secretary Chu. "These breakthrough manufacturing processes, technologies, and materials will help American companies to reduce energy waste and lower costs."
The selected projects will emphasize new processes and materials that are revolutionary in their design or impact and that are capable of being commercialized within the next five to seven years. By boosting investment in near-term technology development, the Department is supporting projects that might otherwise take far longer to contribute to U.S. industrial competitiveness. DOE expects to fund 35 to 50 cost-shared projects under the initiative.
Projects associated with innovations in the earlier stages of development, such as applied research projects or those that establish a proof of concept, will be eligible for awards up to $1 million. These projects must be completed within two years. Projects associated with innovations further along in their development, such as laboratory testing or verification of a prototype system, will be eligible for awards up to $9 million. These projects should not exceed three years in duration. Applicants are encouraged to form collaborative teams equipped with both technical and commercial capabilities to enhance the prospects for success. Teams can be comprised of large and small companies, universities and academic institutions, trade organizations, national laboratories, and other research institutions.

30% Federal Tax Credit

Solar. The credit is equal to 30% of expenditures, with no maximum credit. Eligible solar energy property includes equipment that uses solar energy to generate electricity, to heat or cool (or provide hot water for use in) a structure, or to provide solar process heat. Hybrid solar lighting systems, which use solar energy to illuminate the inside of a structure using fiber-optic distributed sunlight, are eligible. Passive solar systems and solar pool-heating systems are not eligible.
Fuel Cells. The credit is equal to 30% of expenditures, with no maximum credit. However, the credit for fuel cells is capped at $1,500 per 0.5 kilowatt (kW) of capacity. Eligible property includes fuel cells with a minimum capacity of 0.5 kW that have an electricity-only generation efficiency of 30% or higher. (Note that the credit for property placed in service before October 4, 2008, is capped at $500 per 0.5 kW.)
Small Wind Turbines.* The credit is equal to 30% of expenditures, with no maximum credit for small wind turbines placed in service after December 31, 2008. Eligible small wind property includes wind turbines up to 100 kW in capacity. (In general, the maximum credit is $4,000 for eligible property placed in service after October 3, 2008, and before January 1, 2009. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 removed the $4,000 maximum credit limit for small wind turbines.)
Geothermal Systems.* The credit is equal to 10% of expenditures, with no maximum credit limit stated. Eligible geothermal energy property includes geothermal heat pumps and equipment used to produce, distribute or use energy derived from a geothermal deposit. For electricity produced by geothermal power, equipment qualifies only up to, but not including, the electric transmission stage. For geothermal heat pumps, this credit applies to eligible property placed in service after October 3, 2008. Note that the credit for geothermal property, with the exception of geothermal heat pumps, has no stated expiration date.
Microturbines. The credit is equal to 10% of expenditures, with no maximum credit limit stated (explicitly). The credit for microturbines is capped at $200 per kW of capacity. Eligible property includes microturbines up to two megawatts (MW) in capacity that have an electricity-only generation efficiency of 26% or higher.
Combined Heat and Power (CHP).* The credit is equal to 10% of expenditures, with no maximum limit stated. Eligible CHP property generally includes systems up to 50 MW in capacity that exceed 60% energy efficiency, subject to certain limitations and reductions for large systems. The efficiency requirement does not apply to CHP systems that use biomass for at least 90% of the system's energy source, but the credit may be reduced for less-efficient systems. This credit applies to eligible property placed in service after October 3, 2008.