Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE's) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) sponsored and hosted a two-day workshop focused on near net shape (NNS) manufacturing innovation on Nov. 3–4, 2022 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The objective of this workshop was to convene industry leaders to gather information in support of a congressional briefing on the technical and economic viability of producing large metallic NNS components in the United States, as directed by the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill of 2023. The bill directed AMMTO, in collaboration with the Office of Nuclear Energy, the Wind Energy Technologies Office, and the Water Power Technologies Office, to provide a briefing to Congress on the potential for developing and commercializing novel manufacturing processes for producing large NNS metallic components, including but not limited to those traditionally fabricated using large castings and forgings. This event brought together 57 attendees from organizations representing large industries, small and medium manufacturers (SMMs), federal agencies, and industrial and government research laboratories. This wide-ranging group of stakeholders participated in three breakout sessions, each consisting of two-to-three parallel tracks to run highly interactive discussions. The takeaways of these discussions and participants’ written responses to the pre-workshop questions during breakout sessions were synthesized to identify key takeaways, systematically summarize the contents of these responses, and develop specific recommendations and calls for actions. These outcomes and recommendations are summarized in the following report.

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) aims to improve the efficiency, productivity, environmental impact, and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector. Education and workforce development (EWD) efforts are essential for AMMTO to achieve these goals, and for this reason the current and future EWD landscape in the critical minerals and materials (CMM) sector requires renewed attention. To better understand the existing CMM EWD efforts and prepare for future needs, AMMTO hosted a workshop on April 19, 2023. Stakeholders from industry, academia, state and local government, non-governmental organizations, and across DOE assembled to discuss the gaps in and barriers to existing EWD initiatives, opportunities for new or improved EWD efforts, and recommendations for solutions that can be best supported and promoted by AMMTO on behalf of the entire CMM sector.