U.S. Energy Department Joins Cantwell to Create New Partnership on Carbon Fiber Recycling

Press Release

Today, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) joined officials from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Port Angeles region to create a new partnership on carbon fiber recycling. The agreement establishes the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) as a strategic partner and as a West Coast satellite location for DOE's Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), which is based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

The signed memorandum of understanding will foster the partnership between the CRTC and the IACMI, allowing them to share research and development facilities, as well as opportunities for funding and workforce training in the field of carbon fiber recycling. The agreement also allows Peninsula College to expand their capacity to train the composites manufacturing workforce of tomorrow.

"Port of Port Angeles is taking the lead for the nation in solving carbon fiber recycling for manufacturing," said Sen. Cantwell. "This agreement gives the Composite Recycling Technology Center real world-class chops in solving how to break down carbon fiber, which will lead to jobs."

The global composites market is expected to reach more than $27 billion by 2016. It is a critical focus of economic development in the United States because it creates high-paying jobs and many other economic benefits, such as fuel savings and reduced emissions.

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