US targets reman efficiency

A new initiative is targeting a 30% increase in efficiency of remanufacturing operations in the US over the next five years. The Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS), part of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), has been chosen to play a key part in the US Department of Energy’s Manufacturing USA programme. GIS will lead the new Reducing Embodied-Energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute, a national coalition of universities and companies looking at clean energy initiatives. The institute will concentrate on driving down costs of technologies essential to reman, reuse and recycling: its bold target is a 50% improvement in overall energy efficiency by 2027. Working under the RIT-led Sustainable Manufacturing Innovation Alliance (SMIA), it has $70 million of federal funding which will be matched by $70 million from the private sector. “Cleaner production, clean tech and adoption of a circular economy are recognised as critical drivers to a prosperous future,” says GIS director Nabil Nasr, who will be chairman and chief executive officer of SMIA and the REMADE initiative. In addition to manufacturers and trade associations, those involved include Idaho National Lab, University of Illinois and three US states: New York, Colorado and Utah. “As the proud academic leader of the SMIA, we look forward to making a critical impact on US manufacturing by working collaboratively with our coalition partners in enabling improvements to the use of clean energy toward enhancing US manufacturing productivity,” adds RIT president Bill Destler.