Dassault Systèmes announced it is a charter member of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), a 122-member consortium awarded a $70 million grant by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The goal of the newly formed institute is to create better composite materials and technologies for rapid deployment within the automotive, wind turbine and compressed gas storage industries.
The new institute, announced today by President Obama, 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 selective industries such as aerospace, military vehicles, satellites and luxury cars, these materials remain expensive, require large amounts of energy to manufacture and are difficult to recycle. IACMI is dedicated to overcoming these barriers by developing low-cost, high-production, energy-efficient manufacturing and recycling processes for composites applications.
“Dassault Systèmes is proud to be a charter member of IACMI and will have the honor to work alongside partners in the non-profit sector, universities, national laboratories and private industry, as well as the Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office to enable innovation and competitiveness in the U.S. manufacturing sector and drive the development of more efficient products,” said Bruno Latchague, Senior Executive Vice President, Americas Market and Global Sales Operations, Dassault Systèmes.
IACMI is the fifth named institute and another important step toward fulfilling the President’s vision of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). The public-private partnership was selected through a competitive process led by the Advanced Manufacturing Office within the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The DOE Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute’s award is supported by a $70 million Federal commitment over five years combined with an equal or greater amount in non-federal resources.
