A new U.S Department of Energy initiative seeks to cut the costs of technologies used to reuse, recycle, and manufacture metals, fibers, polymers, and electronic waste.

The agency launched the Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute through a public-private partnership to advance a low-carbon economy and strengthen the manufacturing sector, which accounts for nearly 25% of the nation’s total annual energy use. Achieving 50% improvement in energy efficiency by 2027 could translate into billions saved in energy costs and an improved U.S. economic competitive environment.

The physical products created as a result of manufacturing embody most of that energy. The research and deployment of cost-effective technologies that could reduce the energy used in materials production could offer energy savings of up to 1.6 quadrillion BTU annually in the U.S.

By enabling recycling and remanufacturing (the rebuilding of original products using a combination of reused or recycled parts) technologies, the Institute will dramatically reduce life-cycle energy consumption for products and improve overall manufacturing efficiencies. The focus also includes new ways for information collecting; gathering, identification and sorting of end-of-life and waste materials; separating mixed materials; removal of trace contaminants and robust and cost-effective reprocessing and disposal methods.

REMADE is the fifth U.S Department of Energy-led institute in the multiagency network known as Manufacturing USA, also known as the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. Since it was established four years ago, Manufacturing USA has grown from a single institute to a network of 13 institutes. Led by manufacturing experts renowned in their field, the Manufacturing USA Institutes have attracted over 1,300 companies, universities and nonprofits as members – starting with 65 members and now with more than 1,000.