The September 2022 edition of the RWFI E-Note Monthly, NETL’s Regional Workforce Initiative (RWFI) newsletter, is now available and includes details on a range of grant funding and training opportunities.

Key among these is a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) from the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) to create a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute that will accelerate decarbonization of the industrial sector by developing and scaling electrified industrial heating processes. A consortium made up of industry, academia, non-governmental organizations, national labs and other stakeholders is sought to:

• Develop electrified process heating solutions for industry.
• Create modeling and optimization tools to facilitate integration of electrified processes into manufacturing plants.
• Develop technology evaluation tools and methodologies.
• Educate and develop the manufacturing workforce needed to implement this technology.

As part of its industrial efficiency and decarbonization efforts, EERE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office supports applied research applied research, development and demonstration targeting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from high emitting industrial sectors and through cross-sector technologies relevant across multiple industrial sectors. Significant decarbonization of the industrial sector is essential to achieving the overall goal of economy-wide decarbonization by 2050 and the creation of good paying jobs while ensuring that U.S. industry remains globally competitive, and production is not transferred to locations with higher carbon emissions.

Building a clean and equitable energy economy and addressing the climate crisis is a top priority of the Biden Administration.

The U.S. Department of Energy is committed to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering; catalyzing clean energy jobs through research, development, demonstration and deployment; and ensuring environmental justice and inclusion of underserved communities.

The projects selected under this FOA are expected to contribute to the Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of government’s climate and clean energy investments will flow to disadvantaged communities.  The deadline for interested parties to submit their proposals is Oct. 25, 2022.

Also highlighted in this month’s newsletter is a FOA from EERE, on behalf of the Solar Energy Technologies Office, to advance workforce equity partnerships.

Awards made under this FOA will be funded, in whole or in part, with funds appropriated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL provides funding to carry out research, development, demonstration and commercialization activities relating to solar energy technologies, which includes conducting workforce development activities. The activities to be funded under this FOA support the broader government-wide approach to addressing the climate crisis and maximizing the benefits of the clean energy transition as the nation works to curb the climate crisis, empower workers and advance environmental justice.  Dec. 6, 2022, marks the deadline for interested parties to submit their proposals.

This issue includes a warm welcome to George Guthrie, Ph.D., who joined NETL this month as the first principal deputy director. Guthrie joins NETL from Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he served as deputy director for the applied energy programs. Guthrie is a career scientist with more than 30 years of experience in geosciences and applied-energy applications.

Previous editions of RWFI E-Note Monthly can be found in the newsletter’s online archive. Click here for more information about the NETL Regional Workforce Initiative.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.