Energy Department Awards Exceed $22 Million

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently selected 28 new research and development projects that are designed to enhance industrial productivity by improving energy efficiency while simultaneously reducing emissions and waste. More than $22 million in federal funds from the Industrial Materials for the Future (IMF) program, which will be matched by approximately $7 million in private-sector funds over the next two to seven years for projects that will provide innovative, cost-shared research and development of material or material processing methods.“Through the combined efforts of industry and the federal government, these projects help move us toward that goal,” says Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.Some winning IMF projects (see at [www.energy.gov]) include:•  Research and development of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCD) Coatings – conducted by Argonne National Laboratory, Flowserve Corp., and Northwestern University – that will enable extended wear-resistance, fewer repairs, and less downtime.•  Development of a new class of Ferritic Steels (Fe-3Cr-W(V)) for industrial process applications – conducted by Nooter Fabricators – that will improve materials performance and increase the temperature strength, producing easier fabrication for hydrotreating reactor vessels, heat recovery systems, and other components for the petroleum and chemical industries.Clara M.W. Vangen ([email protected]) is technologies editor at Buildings magazine.