LIFT To Launch and Lead New Advanced Critical Materials Program, Strengthening U.S. Manufacturing and National Security

DETROIT – LIFT, the Department of Defense-supported national advanced materials and manufacturing innovation institute, has been awarded a contract to accelerate the development of ceramic-based materials for use in industrial and defense applications.

This new four-year, $9 million “Critical Materials Processing” program, which was supported by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (MI) in the FY2024 federal budget through the Department of War’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, will advance the state of technology and readiness for ceramics, ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), and ultrahigh-temperature materials.

“We risk both our economic and national security when we depend on foreign adversaries like China for materials that are vital to our manufacturing and defense industries,” said Senator Peters, who recently reintroduced the Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Taskforce Act. “We must utilize our partners like LIFT to accelerate the development and production of these materials here at home. Doing so will help create good American jobs while ensuring our manufacturers have reliable access to these important materials.”  

The project’s technical approach is multifaceted, and includes a working group of experts from government, including the Air Force Research Lab, industry, including Exothermics, Kratos SRE and Materials Research & Design (MR&D), and academia to pursue technology advancements to scale initiatives, such as solid-state ceramic batteries, as well as to onshore and scale technologies associated with carbon fiber, a critical pre-cursor material for defense-related protection systems often comprised of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) that are in severely limited supply within the United States.

“Ceramic-based materials hold significant promise for the grand technological challenges our nation’s industrial base and workforce are seeking to resolve, including withstanding extreme temperatures and other extreme environments,” said Nigel Francis, CEO and Executive Director, LIFT. “Despite the promise of ceramic materials and their composites, no organization exists within the United States to address the scale up to commercialization of ceramic-related technology and talent initiatives. With this program, LIFT is positioned to achieve exactly those goals.”

LIFT and its partners will also investigate prototype solutions to accelerate the production of ultra-high temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs), community integration and unification, gap analysis, identifying modeling and simulation tools, and cross-industry standardization. For prototype solutions aimed at accelerating production, the use of compression molding and/or resin transfer molding, combined with high-pressure resin injection, will be a specific focus for the rapid impregnation and curing of CMC preform layups.

For more information, visit www.lift.technology.

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About LIFT

LIFT, operated by the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute, is the Detroit-based, public-private partnership with the Department of Defense, industry, and academia, committed to the development and deployment of advanced manufacturing technologies, and implementing talent development initiatives to better prepare the workforce today and in the future. LIFT funded in part by the Department of War with management through the Office of Naval Research. Visit https://lift.technology/or follow on LinkedIn at LIFT or on Twitter @NewsFromLIFT to learn more.