ACMI Awarded Contract Extension on Successful Critical Chemical Pilot Program

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ACMI Federal ("ACMI") has been awarded a contract extension that focuses on the expansion of the Critical Chemical Pilot Program which is designed to bolster producers of inert chemicals that could have applications in the military and agricultural industry. The new $15 million award will significantly expand the scope of the pilot program over the next two years. ACMI was awarded this contract under the Department of Defense Information Analysis Center's (DOD IAC) multiple-award contract (MAC) vehicle. These DoD IAC MAC task orders (TOs) are awarded by the U.S. Air Force's 74^th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron to develop and create new knowledge for the enhancements of the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) repository and the R&D and S&T Community.

"ACMI is proud to be supporting this vital program for the DOD," said John Burer, Founder of ACMI. "The extension of the original pilot reflects the successes we have achieved in the first chapter of the program. Our public-private model for supporting these critical areas will amplify the impact of this additional investment to meet the DOD's objectives."

As part of the pilot extension, ACMI will not only expand the list of chemicals under study but also bring in new academic and commercial partners. $10 million of the investment will be focused directly on the target chemicals, including modernization of batch processes, continuous flow chemistry, sustainable materials and processes, and other innovations. The remaining $5 million will support munitions technology tooling and innovation, including hardware and production machinery modernization and support for manufacturing scale-up. 

For the first phase of the Critical Chemical Pilot Program, ACMI's goal was to achieve a 10-to-1 ratio of private to public investment. In the first year of the program, ACMI exceeded this goal, achieving a 16-to-1 private-to-public funding ratio. Full-scale operations could achieve a ratio as high as 25-to-1, amplifying the DOD's investment and providing a maximum return on investment for the U.S. taxpayer.

Furthermore, the first phase of the program developed and validated three approaches for domestic production of several critical chemicals, namely:

• Demand Aggregation - working with a commercial chemical company to adapt their chemical engineering approach to produce a critical precursor of an energetic material not available domestically in nearly two decades,
• Commercial Market Adaptation – supporting the certification of a lower-cost, commercially-available material for use in place of an existing, domestically unavailable, and more exacting military specification; and
• Process Innovation – developing a modern, efficient continuous flow chemistry process with less waste products to enable future domestic production for multiple critical chemicals.

Next steps for the project will include securing additional funders, identifying potential partners in the chemical industry and academia, and working with DOD to finalize the list of chemicals that will be included in the pilot expansion. 

ACMI was founded to help bridge the gap between government needs and the private market's willingness to invest. The unique public-private model was developed to spur private investment, accelerate innovation, and rebuild American manufacturing capabilities in industries critical for U.S. defense and prosperity, such as munitions, hypersonic systems, and energy storage.

ABOUT DOD IAC PROGRAM

'The DOD IAC, sponsored by the Defense Technical Information Center, provides technical data management and research support for DoD and federal governments users. Established in 1946, the IAC program serves the DoD science and technology (S&T) and acquisition communities to drive innovation and technological developments by enhancing collaboration through integrated scientific and technical information development and dissemination for the DoD and broader S&T community.'

ABOUT ACMI

'The American Center for Manufacturing Innovation (ACMI) is committed to revitalizing the U.S. industrial base through strategic investments in emerging businesses in critical sectors. ACMI and its affiliates, ACMI Properties, ACMI Federal, and ACMI Capital, aim to consolidate funding, resources, and expertise to close gaps in the US industrial base, enhance supply chain resiliency, and accelerate innovation.'

Disclaimer. 'The material is based upon work supported by the DoD Information Analysis Center Program (DoD IAC), sponsored by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) under Contract no FA8075YYD00X.
Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited. 'Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the DoD.'

Contact: Dan Palumbo, [email protected], 3018752356

SOURCE ACMI Federal