Steven Chu, the Secretary of Energy, announced nearly $170 million in available funding over the next three years to support the advancement of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) technologies in four areas:

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) — a $30 million initiative to support up to 10 research and development (R&D) projects focused on advanced biofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products. Projects should propose integrated science and engineering research in three technical areas of interest:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will commit $25 million over the next five years to support the U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center, as part of the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy. DOE will provide matching grants to universities, national labs, private companies and others to support research in energy efficiency, second-generation biofuels and solar energy. The $50 million contributed by DOE and award grantees will be matched by an additional $50 million in public and private funds from India.

Innovative companies involved in commercializing research with universities and federal agencies often cite complicated contracts and uncertainty surrounding the process as a barrier to bringing more technologies to the marketplace. In an effort to remove some of those hurdles, two new initiatives recently were announced from the University of Minnesota (UM) and the Department of Energy (DOE).

Unless Congress and the White House take action by the end of the year, across-the-board spending reductions will go into effect for all federal agencies as a result of provisions in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The budget sequestration would reduce defense discretionary funding by 9.4 percent and non-defense funding by 8.2 percent from the 2011 baseline.

The Obama administration announced winners of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge on Tuesday. The challenge — publicized earlier this year — is one of the key initiatives of the interagency Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters and is sponsored by a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Departments of Energy and Labor, and the Small Business Administration.

Three federal agencies (Departments of Commerce, Defense and Energy) are accepting applications for the establishment of a $45 million pilot Institute for Additive Manufacturing. The federal agencies intend for the Institute for Additive Manufacturing to accelerate research, development and demonstration in additive manufacturing and transition technology to manufacturing enterprises within the United States.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new $120 million five-year multidisciplinary and sustained effort intended to identify problems and develop solutions across the lifecycle of critical materials. The Critical Materials Hub will work to advance U.S. leadership in energy manufacturing (e.g., electric vehicles, wind turbines and efficient lighting) through research aimed at having a reliable supply of these rare earths and other critical materials, as well as finding efficiencies and alternatives that reduce the amount needed.

Several reports, assessments, and plans have been released related to energy development — particularly clean energy. On March 15, both President Obama's Blueprint for a Clean and Secure Energy Future and the Government Accountability Office's review of the Department of Energy's loan programs were released. In addition, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation published their report on recent trends in federal investment in clean energy, specifically from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Last week the Obama administration launched a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative housed within the Department of Energy. The initiative will use public-private partnerships to drive an open-source, "smart" manufacturing network that will help U.S. clean energy manufacturing firms reduce costs, increase competitiveness, and boost productivity.

Ahead of the president' FY 2014 budget proposal release date (April 10, 2013) and amid federal sequestration, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released two reports that contend duplication, fragmentation and a lack of cooperation between federal agencies may plague federal support for wind energy deployment and entrepreneurial assistance. To address these issues, the GAO reports recommend enhanced collaboration between agencies and consolidation of funding programs.

The Obama administration will commit $200 million from five federal agencies to create three new manufacturing innovation institutions in 2013. Building on the Additive Manufacturing pilot initiative launched in Youngstown, OH, last year, the Department of Defense will lead two new institutes focused on Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation and Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing. A third institute, led by the Department of Energy, will focus on Next Generation Power Electronic Manufacturing. Competition for these new institutes is open immediately.

Last week, the Obama administration announced that it would commit $200 million to establish three new manufacturing innovation institutions in 2013 (see the May 8, 2013 issue of the digest).

The Department of Energy's guaranteed loan program has made headlines as automotive company Tesla paid back over $450 million in federal loans nine years ahead of schedule. Tesla's move highlights the potential of federal loan programs to support the growth of renewable energy industries by investing in companies that are developing new technologies such as lithium batteries and electric cars.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz is leading a restructuring of the department's management, reorganizing programs and undersecretary positions to better align with the operational goals of supporting President Obama's Climate Action Plan, an "all of the above" energy strategy, and strengthening nuclear security. The move will create an Under Secretary for Management and Performance, merge the energy and science programs, and consolidate the department's defense waste cleanup efforts.

Electric vehicles may be gaining momentum.

The Congressional Research Service recently published findings on the current conditions of federal support of academic research, highlighting the threat that constrained university, state and federal budgets places on critical basic research. Although there is growing recognition that R&D is crucial to the long term health of the nation's science and technology sectors, data from the report shows U.S. colleges and universities have seen a decline in financial support at the federal, state and private levels.

With U.S. private sector R&D activity declining and global competition intensifying in areas of U.S. expertise, it is clear the U.S. must take strategic action to maintain its position as the world leader in R&D and prevent innovation from leaving our shores. Last week, the Department of Energy announced 66 breakthrough energy-related projects would receive a total of $130 million through its OPEN 2012 program.

DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Semiconductor Research Corporation have announced a five-year $194 million program working with six universities across the country to support the growth of the semiconductor industry. These research centers are:

The Department of Energy (DOE) is will commit up to $12 million for a new round of funding for the SunShot Incubator Program — a pay-for-performance program focused on helping solar energy startups transition from a proof-of-concept or business plan to domestic commercialization and/or deployment.