Agenda 2020 Receives Advanced Manufacturing Grant for Mapping P&P Breakthrough Technologies

The Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance, Washington, D.C., USA, has been selected for funding by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for a project to map pathways for developing advanced technologies for pulp and paper manufacturing. The $482,078 grant was awarded under the highly competitive Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Consortia (AMTech) program.

 

With the NIST grant, Agenda 2020 and its partners will engage the pulp and paper industry in identifying opportunities for developing and implementing advanced manufacturing technologies that will improve global competitiveness. The process will begin with open-forum sessions soliciting inputs from all stakeholders followed by collaborative preparation of six detailed roadmaps that define paths for research and implementation. Two broad categories of technological need and opportunity—sustainable manufacturing and advanced biobased materials—will provide an overarching focus. Agenda 2020 will work with Energetics Inc., and KMB Consulting to complete the project over a two-year period.

 

Agenda 2020 President and Executive Director Ron Brown notes the importance of the award to the nation’s pulp and paper industry. "The AMTech award to Agenda 2020 recognizes the dramatic potential for national benefit that can result from developing advanced manufacturing technologies for pulp and paper manufacturing," he explained. "With a clear focus on transformational approaches, the new shared-vision roadmaps will encourage innovative approaches that can lead to large improvements in sustainable manufacturing and strengthen the economic impact of pulp and paper mills in 40 states." 

The Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance is an industry-led consortium that promotes development of advanced technologies for the pulp and paper industry.

 

AMTech, as an integral part of the U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Initiative, is focused on developing advanced technologies to address major technical problems that inhibit the growth of advanced manufacturing in the U.S., and to identify and prioritize research projects addressing long-term industrial research needs and opportunities.