Washington, DC – U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Bill provides $56 million for four Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institutes, including $14 million for Rochester’s Reducing Embodied-energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute. The REMADE Institute is led by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and works with leading universities and companies to research and develop initiatives that can make the U.S. manufacturing industry more energy efficient, competitive, and environmentally friendly.
“RIT, via the REMADE Manufacturing Institute, has been leading the way in revolutionizing clean energy research and our nation’s manufacturing sector for years; this new $14 million federal investment will not only expand and build on that legacy but also bring more good paying jobs to New York State,” said Senator Schumer. “This funding is a win-win-win for the Rochester-Finger Lakes Community, RIT, and the national REMADE Manufacturing Institute, which will continue to have the resources it needs to lead this national clean manufacturing institute.”
“The REMADE Institute is at the forefront of our nation’s clean energy research and is home to good-paying, high-tech jobs in the Rochester region,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The Institute’s work supports entrepreneurs throughout New York and the country as they work to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions in the manufacturing process. This funding will help REMADE continue on this important path, and I was proud to fight to get this funding included in this year’s Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Bill.”
RIT’s REMADE Institute was formed in May 2017 and is one of the U.S. Department of Energy-led Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institutes created with the goal of enhancing U.S. manufacturing competitiveness while advancing the nation’s energy goals. The RIT-led REMADE Institute is a national coalition of 26 universities, 44 companies, seven national labs, 26 industry trade associations and foundations, and three states that work to collaborate and develop new best practices to manufacture more efficiently, use fewer resources and less costly raw materials in order to save billions of dollars, increase efficiency, deliver a 50 percent increase in U.S. manufacturing sales, and create or retain thousands of new U.S. jobs. The REMADE Institute’s member companies include some of the country’s largest manufacturers, including Xerox, Corning, Caterpillar, John Deere, Kohler, and many others.
Schumer and Gillibrand have continuously advocated for funding for RIT’s REMADE Institute. Earlier this year, Schumer and Gillibrand announced that the 2018 omnibus spending bill included $70 million in federal funding for the Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (CEMI). Gillibrand led the Senate push advocating for this year’s omnibus funding that supports the RIT-led REMADE Institute, and Leader Schumer ensured the final package included this vital support. The CEMI Program committed $70 million in federal funding to the REMADE Institute over five years, which is being matched by $70 million in non-federal matching funding from the REMADE Institute’s member entities.