The North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP) has been awarded a two-year, $1 million federal grant to help cultivate the growth of the PowerAmerica Institute.<\/p>\n
The grant, awarded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will enable NCMEP to work with PowerAmerica and its expanding network of project partners to grow the wide bandgap semiconductor technology sector, accelerate the production of valuable goods and services and develop industry-led skills strategies.<\/p>\n
Embedding a highly-trained engineer within PowerAmerica will be one of the first items of business under the grant. In addition to serving as a valuable technical resource, the engineer will lead outreach and project development nationally to small- and medium-sized manufacturers in market sectors, like renewable energy and innovative transport systems, where WBG semiconductors could have the most impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are excited to work more closely with PowerAmerica in order to ensure that the development of this new technology includes our nation\u2019s smaller manufacturers.\u00a0 With this work, we will also learn more about the other Manufacturing USA institutes and how they can benefit our NC manufacturers,\u201d says NCMEP Director Phil Mintz.<\/p>\n
By the close of 2018, Mintz says that he expects to see development of many advanced manufacturing projects between PowerAmerica and small to medium-sized enterprises across the U.S.<\/p>\n