National institute making an impact

A national institute led in part by RIT marked five years of accelerating the transition to a circular economy in the United States in 2022.

The REMADE Institute, founded in 2017 by the U.S. Department of Energy with an initial investment of $140 million, has grown to nearly 160 current members, including industry innovators, academic research institutions, trade associations, and national labs.

The consortium is focused exclusively on the development of transformational technologies geared toward designing for durability, reuse, remanufacturing, recycling, and recovery to keep products, components, and materials circulating in the economy and reducing energy consumption, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Nabil Nasr, founding CEO of REMADE—short for Reducing EMbodied-Energy And Decreasing Emissions—calls the next decade “critical.”

“To meet our nation’s climate goals, achieve net-zero by 2050, increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, and increase the resiliency of the nation’s supply chain, the U.S. must lead as we face what many have called this generation’s greatest challenge,” said Nasr, associate provost and Golisano Institute for Sustainability’s director.

REMADE is part of Manufacturing USA, a national network of 16 federally designated, public-private partnerships united to secure U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing through large-scale collaboration on technology, supply chain, and workforce development. The institute is the first for which the university serves as lead member.

Since its founding, REMADE has launched or selected more than 80 projects, representing a total combined value of over $80 million and developing technology solutions that are capable of:

• Saving 1.2 quads of energy per year—the equivalent of conserving 206 million barrels of oil annually.
• Reducing 67.2 million metric tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions, equal to eliminating the annual emissions of 13.1 million cars.
• And supporting U.S. economic growth by generating up to $22 billion per year in new opportunities.

This story is part of the 2023 President’s Annual Report. Read more stories from the report.