. "Introduction." Materials Technologies for the Process Industries of the Future: Management Strategies and Research Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2000.
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MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES OF THE FUTURE
1
Introduction
This chapter describes the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Industrial Technology’s (OIT) transition to a “market-pull” strategy, the unique characteristics of the Industries of the Future (IOF) Program, OIT’s materials programs, and opportunities for developing crosscutting technologies (i.e., technologies applicable to more than one IOF industry). Finally, this chapter defines the objectives of this report.
The industries that comprise the IOF are all major energy consumers and major generators of waste. In addition, they are important to the U.S. economy and national security. The seven original IOF industries were expanded to nine in 1997. Taken together, these nine industries account for more than 80 percent of the energy consumed and more than 90 percent of the manufacturing wastes generated by the industrial sector. The nine industries are: agriculture, aluminum, chemicals, forest products, glass, metalcasting, mining, petroleum refining, and steel. OIT also supports some work in related industries (e.g. carbon products, forging, heat treating, and welding) when it is of benefit to the IOF industries. The metal forging and heat-treating industries are included in this report.
MARKET-PULL STRATEGY
In 1993, OIT began a transition of its research and development (R&D) programs from a “technology-push” strategy, in which research projects were selected and prioritized primarily for their potential to reduce energy consumption and waste generation, to a “market-pull” strategy, in which research projects are selected and prioritized primarily for their potential to meet identified industry needs. This change is being accomplished through extensive cooperative efforts between IOF member industries first to generate “vision documents” ( Table 1-1 ), which must be approved by the respective industry associations and the chief executive officers (CEOs) and other high-ranking officers of the member companies. These documents are then used by the industry to prepare technology road maps ( Table 1-2 ) and other
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MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES OF THE FUTURE
1
Introduction
This chapter describes the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Industrial Technology’s (OIT) transition to a “market-pull” strategy, the unique characteristics of the Industries of the Future (IOF) Program, OIT’s materials programs, and opportunities for developing crosscutting technologies (i.e., technologies applicable to more than one IOF industry). Finally, this chapter defines the objectives of this report.
The industries that comprise the IOF are all major energy consumers and major generators of waste. In addition, they are important to the U.S. economy and national security. The seven original IOF industries were expanded to nine in 1997. Taken together, these nine industries account for more than 80 percent of the energy consumed and more than 90 percent of the manufacturing wastes generated by the industrial sector. The nine industries are: agriculture, aluminum, chemicals, forest products, glass, metalcasting, mining, petroleum refining, and steel. OIT also supports some work in related industries (e.g. carbon products, forging, heat treating, and welding) when it is of benefit to the IOF industries. The metal forging and heat-treating industries are included in this report.
MARKET-PULL STRATEGY
In 1993, OIT began a transition of its research and development (R&D) programs from a “technology-push” strategy, in which research projects were selected and prioritized primarily for their potential to reduce energy consumption and waste generation, to a “market-pull” strategy, in which research projects are selected and prioritized primarily for their potential to meet identified industry needs. This change is being accomplished through extensive cooperative efforts between IOF member industries first to generate “vision documents” ( Table 1-1 ), which must be approved by the respective industry associations and the chief executive officers (CEOs) and other high-ranking officers of the member companies. These documents are then used by the industry to prepare technology road maps ( Table 1-2 ) and other
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MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES OF THE FUTURE
TABLE 1-1 Status of IOF Vision Documents
Industry Sector
Documents
Date Released
Agriculture
• Plant/Crop-Based Renewable Resources 2020: A Vision to Enhance U.S. Economic Security through Renewable Plant/Crop-Based Resource Use
January 1998
Aluminum
• Aluminum Industry: Industry/Government Partnerships for the Future
March 1996
Chemicals
• Technology Vision 2020: The U.S. Chemical Industry
December 1996
• Vision 2020 Catalysis Report
December 1997
Forest Products
• Agenda 2020: A Technology Vision and Research Agenda for America’s Forest, Wood and Paper Industry
November 1994
Glass
• Glass: A Clear Vision for a Brighter Future
January 1996
Metalcasting
• Beyond 2000: A Vision of the American Metalcasting Industry
February 1996
Mining
• The Future Begins with Mining: A Vision of the Mining Industry of the Future
September 1998
Petroleum Refining
• None
Steel
• Steel: A Natural Resource for the Future
May 1995
Forging
• Forging Industry Vision of the Future
1998
Heat Treating
• Heat Treating Industry Vision 2020
February 1998
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MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES OF THE FUTURE
TABLE 1-2 Status of IOF Technology Road Maps
Industry Sector
Road Maps
Date Released
Agriculture
• The Technology Roadmap for Plant/Crop-Based Renewable Resources 2020: Research Priorities Fulfilling a Vision to Enhance U.S. Economic Security through Renewable Plant/Crop-Based Resource Use
February 1999
Aluminum
• Aluminum Industry Technology Roadmap
May 1997
• Inert Anode Roadmap: A Framework for Technology Development
May 1998
• Aluminum Industry Roadmap for the Automotive Market: Enabling Technologies and Challenges for Body Structures and Closures
May 1999
• Technology Roadmap for Bauxite Residue Treatment and Utilization
February 2000
Chemicals
• Catalysis Technology Roadmap
June 1997
• Technology Roadmap for Computational Fluid Dynamics
October 1997
• Vision 2020 Separations Roadmap
November 1998
• Technology Roadmap for Materials of Construction and Maintenance in the Chemical Process Industries
December 1998
• Technology Roadmap for Computational Chemistry (draft)
September 1999
Forest Products
• Agenda 2020: The Path Forward — An Implementation Plan
1999
Glass
• Glass Technology Roadmap Workshop
September 1997
Metalcasting
• Metalcasting Industry Technology Roadmap
January 1998
Mining
• Mining Industry Roadmap for Crosscutting Technologies
1999
Petroleum Refining
• None
Steel
• Steel Industry Technology Roadmap
1997, revised
February, 1998
Forging
• Forging Industry Technology Roadmap
November 1997
Heat Treating
• Report of the Heat Treating Technology Roadmap Workshop
April 1997
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MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES OF THE FUTURE
implementation documents ( Table 1-3 ) in cooperation with industry associations and panels. The road maps serve as guides for OIT in selecting and funding R&D projects for each industry. Eight of the nine IOF industries have developed technology road maps.
A critical element of the market-pull strategy has been a strong emphasis on team involvement in nearly all R&D projects. Team members may include national laboratories, universities, and industrial firms. Some OIT projects have also been extended beyond technology development to include product development and demonstration and early commercialization, in partnership with industry. However, the primary responsibility for commercialization lies with industry, and OIT plays a supporting role.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INDUSTRIES OF THE FUTURE
The successful development and commercialization of technologies for the nine IOF industries will require that OIT have a comprehensive understanding of the similarities and differences of the nine industries, as well as the business situations of individual companies operating in these sectors. All nine IOF industries are capital intensive, face global competition, are cyclical, produce commodity products (high product volumes, low prices, and low profit margins), and have mature markets and technologies. These business realities have profoundly limited the amount of capital available for industry investments in product development, the scale-up of new technologies, and facilities necessary for commercialization. Cost and profitability pressures also affect a company’s ability to accept and implement a new technology, as well as its willingness to take risks. Another intangible, but important, barrier to the acceptance of a new technology is organizational resistance to technological change in the industry. Mature businesses have long histories of working with well established technologies and entrenched attitudes that can sometimes be difficult to overcome. In selecting industrial partners, OIT must remain cognizant of how these factors may affect potential partners and outcomes.
MATERIALS PROGRAMS AND CROSSCUTTING TECHNOLOGIES
OIT’s materials programs, which are components of three separate programs (described in Chapter 3 ), were all begun prior to the changeover to the market-pull strategy. As carryovers from prior years, the AIM and CFCC programs have not been fully integrated into the IOF market-pull, road map strategy, although OIT continues to work on their full integration (NRC, 1999). The Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) Program and the Continuous Fiber Ceramic Composites (CFCC) Program are focused on the development and commercialization of materials. The
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MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES OF THE FUTURE
TABLE 1-3 Other IQF-Related Technology Documents
Industry Sector
Documents
Date Released
Agriculture
• None
Aluminum
• Life Cycle Inventory-Report of the North American Aluminum Industry
November 1998
• Report of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Technical Working Group on Inert Anode Technologies
July 1999
Chemicals
• Process Measurement and Control: Industry Needs
March 1998
• The Energy Performance Workshop for the Chemical, Pulp and Paper Industries, 2000–2020
September 1998
Forest Products
• Paper Industry Research Needs
April 1996
• The Energy Performance Workshop for the Chemical and Pulp and Paper Industries, 2000–2020
September 1998
Glass/Ceramics
• Advanced Ceramics in Glass Production: Needs and Opportunities
January 1997
• Opportunities for Advanced Ceramics to Meet the Needs of Industries of the Future
January 1998
Metalcasting
• None
Mining
• None
Petroleum Refining
• Energy and Environmental Profile of the U.S. Petroleum Refining Industry
December 1998
Steel
• None
Forging
• None
Heat Treating
• None
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MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES OF THE FUTURE
Industrial Power Generation program includes the development and testing of materials necessary to the development and commercialization of industrial power-generation equipment (e.g., advanced turbine systems [ATS] and microturbines). The Industrial Power Generation program has some areas of synergy with the AIM (intermetallics) and the CFCC programs (ceramics). Recently, the Industrial Power Generation Program has been transferred to the DOE Office of Power Technologies.
OIT’s spending on materials R&D since 1996 is shown in Table 1-4 . As the table shows, the level of funding has been relatively constant during this period with trade-offs being made between individual programs. Total funding for materials R&D, however, is more than double the amounts shown, reflecting various contributions by industrial partners.
Crosscutting technologies that benefit more than one industry are highly attractive because they increase the “return on investment” of taxpayer dollars. Although the resources required to solve the materials problems of a single industry may be great, the investment may make “business sense” for U.S. taxpayers if the results will benefit several industry sectors. However, materials needs cannot always be directly translated from one industry to another. The materials needs listed in the technology road maps are necessarily very broad and apparent overlaps may disappear when needs are defined in more detail.
For example, nearly all of the technology road maps mention the need for improved refractories but do not define the term further. Because the operating environments and conditions differ greatly between industries (e.g., glass and steel), materials compositions, performance requirements, and fabrication techniques may also differ greatly. More specific descriptions are necessary to determine the similarities and differences among refractories for different industries. Nevertheless, crosscutting technologies offer significant benefits for public investment.
TABLE 1-4 Trends in OIT Spending on Materials R&D (in $ millions)
Program
1997
1998
1999
AIM
9.0
6.0
6.0
CFCC
8.4
8.4
8.4
ATS
4.9
4.8
6.0
Supporting Technologies (ORNL)
2.2
2.2
2.2
Microturbines
New program – no budget history
Total
24.5
21.4
22.6
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MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES OF THE FUTURE
REPORT OBJECTIVES
This report summarizes the committee’s overall evaluation of OIT’s materials programs. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the materials needs of the IOF industries, focusing on crosscutting technologies. Chapter 3 provides an overview of OIT’s materials programs. Chapter 4 presents the committee’s views on OIT’s management strategies, including program management, criteria for project selection, commercialization plans, and industry involvement. In Chapter 5 , the committee identifies opportunities for materials R&D for select IOF industries and crosscutting areas. Chapter 6 contains the committee’s overall recommendations for improving OIT’s materials programs.
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