NETL Director Brian Anderson spoke at an advanced manufacturing roundtable Dec. 19, at Hazelwood Green Mill 19 in Pittsburgh, to discuss the Lab’s ongoing and future work, vision and potential for collaborative opportunities centered around advanced manufacturing in the region.

The meeting was hosted by Catalyst Connection in collaboration with NETL and convened key stakeholders from across Appalachia to discuss priorities, opportunities and challenges related to advanced manufacturing. Anderson described NETL’s advanced manufacturing capabilities and communicated NETL’s efforts and vision for an advanced manufacturing-based ecosystem in the Appalachian region and provided a framework for how the Lab and meeting attendees can work together going forward. Anderson offered opening remarks and led a panel of NETL experts that addressed collaboration in research, economic development and industry with attendees.

NETL’s advanced manufacturing research accelerates the development of material solutions by leveraging multi-scale, multidisciplinary computational techniques and systems analysis. The advanced manufacturing focus area at NETL includes both functional and structural research, which involves developing technologies that can exhibit properties not usually found in nature and withstand harsh mechanical and corrosive environments, respectively.

Recent research at the Lab includes the development of effective water filtering technologies and alloys with stronger magnetic capabilities for use in motors, electrical machinery and more. Other research within the last year included the creation of temperature and pressure sensors able to withstand temperatures exceeding 1600 degrees Celsius for use inside advanced energy systems. These and other promising technologies currently available for funding have the potential to improve critical industry processes and benefit the Appalachian region. View a complete list of technologies available for funding here.

“Meeting with regional stakeholders gives NETL insight into the advanced manufacturing goals of other regard organizations and helps to identify potential partnership areas,” Anderson said. “Coming together to discuss and address both technical and non-technical challenges in advanced manufacturing greatly contributes to the development of a regional advanced manufacturing and innovation to take advantage of the burgeoning economic opportunities of Appalachia.”

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory that produces technological solutions for America’s energy challenges. From developing creative innovations and efficient energy systems that make coal more competitive, to advancing technologies that enhance oil and natural gas extraction and transmission processes, NETL research is providing breakthroughs and discoveries that support home-grown energy initiatives, stimulate a growing economy, and improve the health, safety, and security of all Americans. Highly skilled men and women at three NETL research sites – Albany, Oregon; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – conduct a broad range of research activities that support DOE’s mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.