Argonne and the Department of Energy Launch New Partnership to Speed up U.S. Manufacturing Innovation | Press Releases

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has launched a new effort to help American companies develop and scale new products and manufacturing technologies more quickly.

Called the “National Science-at-Scale Collaborative,” the effort is supported by DOE’s Office of Critical Materials and Energy Innovation (CMEI). The collaborative brings together industry, government and the national laboratories to address complex challenges in critical materials and chemical manufacturing in the United States.

Argonne will work with industry partners on projects designed to move promising technologies from research to commercial production faster. Researchers will use advanced computer modeling, artificial intelligence, rapid synthesis tools and pilot-scale manufacturing systems at Argonne’s Materials Engineering Research Facility to help companies test and scale new production processes.

“American manufacturing has an opportunity to lead the next generation of innovation in critical materials and chemical processing,” said Paul Kearns, director of Argonne. “The National Science-at-Scale Collaborative will help connect discovery, engineering and deployment in ways that strengthen U.S. competitiveness and advance our economic security.”

The announcement followed an industry roundtable chaired by CMEI. Leaders from the chemical and critical materials sectors met to discuss manufacturing challenges and opportunities for collaboration.

“To compete globally, the U.S. must bring new technologies into domestic production more quickly,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson. “This collaborative will help connect DOE, the national laboratories and private industry to speed up that process.”

The collaborative supports CMEI’s broader mission to strengthen America’s critical minerals supply chains and accelerate next-generation energy technologies.

Industry roundtable participants list:

• DOE: Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Office.
• National Laboratory System: Argonne National Laboratory.
• Manufacturers: Aclara, Albemarle, ATALCO, BASF North America, Chemours, Dow, Entegris, Exxon Mobil, Orbia and Standard Lithium.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260610953163/en/

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Department of Energy Selects 10 Projects to Receive Nearly $5 Million for Manufacturing Cybersecurity Innovation

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in collaboration with the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII), announced the selection of 10 projects with a combined total of $4.8 million in research and development funding to enhance the cybersecurity landscape within American manufacturing. These projects will advance cybersecure, energy efficient manufacturing, aligning with the missions of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and EERE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) to drive U.S. manufacturing and supporting the nation’s collective push for a competitive, clean, and decarbonized economy.

“Each of these projects represents a significant investment into American manufacturing resiliency,” said AMMTO director Christopher Saldana “By working with CyManII and each of our project partners to build secure and sustainable process that evolve with new innovations, we can help ensure a robust and cybersecure manufacturing sector here in the United States.”

These 10 projects were selected within three critical industry use cases:

1. Industrial Control Systems: These projects will explore industry-relevant security controls for the production and supply chain of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). The goal is to ensure digital integrity, supply chain traceability, and resilience to cyber events.
2. Secure Industrial Digitalization: These projects will help small and medium-sized manufacturers to secure the digital transformations of their companies by identifying and developing effective digitalization practices without introducing new cyber risks.
3. Industrial Additive Manufacturing: These projects will demonstrate how additive manufacturers can secure product integrity and supply chain traceability, reducing costs by securely tracking the digital histories of their products.

View a list of selected projects here

CyManII is one of DOE’s seven Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institutes and is managed by EERE’s AMMTO, which funds the institute in consultation with the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response. CyManII is also a part of Manufacturing USA®, a network of federally funded institutes that have a specialized technology focus to increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and promote a robust and sustainable national manufacturing R&D infrastructure.

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U.S. Department of War promotes defense manufacturing expansion

Key Points

• United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth concluded the first phase of the Arsenal of Freedom tour with visits to General Dynamics and L3Harris facilities in Arkansas promoting faster domestic defense production.
• The Department of War used the nationwide tour to emphasize strengthening the U.S. defense industrial base and expanding workforce support tied to missile and advanced weapons manufacturing.

United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth concluded the first phase of the Department’s nationwide “Arsenal of Freedom” tour on Feb. 27, 2026, with visits to defense industry facilities operated by General Dynamics and L3Harris in Camden, Arkansas, where he delivered remarks focused on expanding production capacity and accelerating weapons manufacturing.

The tour, organized by the United States Department of War, is intended to demonstrate federal support for the defense industrial base while urging industry and workforce leaders to increase output of military systems and modernize manufacturing practices supporting U.S. warfighters.

Speaking before more than 1,500 employees at the L3Harris facility, Hegseth highlighted the role of defense workers in sustaining military readiness.

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“Thank you for being the backbone of our department and our great nation [and] for having the backs of our warfighters because what you build right here in Camden is absolutely central to the 21st-century arsenal of freedom,” Hegseth said.

He added that the technologies produced at the site directly support advanced weapons programs.

“The technology that you build for our missiles, interceptors and hypersonic weapons is what allows the War Department to achieve peace through strength, and that mission comes with a nonnegotiable mandate from the War Department [and] straight from the Resolute Desk and President [Donald J.] Trump,” he said.

According to remarks released during the visit, Hegseth emphasized innovation and faster production timelines as core priorities of the tour. He encouraged industry partners to increase manufacturing tempo while maintaining technological advancement across defense programs.

(Photo by Alexander Kubitza)

The secretary also addressed long-standing concerns about inefficiencies within the defense industrial base, arguing that production culture must shift toward faster delivery cycles. Praising L3Harris operations in Camden, he said the company had “set the pace” for industry performance through rapid production practices.

“For far too long, our defense and aerospace industry was a giant swamp, much like Washington. … Those companies moved at a snail’s pace, led by CEOs who cared more about their stock options and golden parachutes than delivering for those on the front lines,” Hegseth said.

He further criticized earlier trends toward outsourcing defense production overseas, stating that domestic manufacturing remains central to national security priorities.

“Well, let them tell that to these great workers and these great patriots at L3,” Hegseth said during the event.

According to the Department of War, the Arkansas stop marked the conclusion of a seven-and-a-half-week first phase of the Arsenal of Freedom tour, which began Jan. 5 with a visit to a shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. The tour included additional stops in Texas, California, Rhode Island, Maine, Missouri, Florida, and Colorado.

As part of each visit, Hegseth has administered enlistment oaths to new service members. During the Arkansas stop, he swore in 40 recruits, bringing the total number of enlistees participating in ceremonies during the tour to more than 260.

(Photo by Alexander Kubitza)

The Department said the enlistment ceremonies are intended to link industrial workforce contributions with military service, underscoring the connection between manufacturing capacity and operational readiness.

In practical military terms, the facilities visited in Camden contribute components and systems supporting missile production, interceptor technologies, and hypersonic weapon development. These systems form part of layered defense architectures designed to counter aerial threats and maintain deterrence capabilities.

The Arsenal of Freedom initiative draws its name from the historical “Arsenal of Democracy,” the large-scale industrial mobilization undertaken by the United States prior to and during World War II, when domestic manufacturing was expanded to supply military equipment to Allied forces.

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