FlexTech Alliance wins DoD contract

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) recently chose the San Jose, California-based FlexTech Alliance to establish and manage a Manufacturing Innovation Institute for flexible hybrid electronics.

The Obama administration has been establishing a network of Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation – each with a unique focus, but with the common goal to create and deploy new manufacturing capabilities and processes. It’s part of an effort to partner government entities, the private sector and academia to ensure the United States leads in pioneering new manufacturing frontiers.

FlexTech Alliance is a consortium of 162 companies, universities and non-profits. As part of the agreement with the DOD, the organization will receive $75 million over the next five years to establish the new Manufacturing Innovation Institute. Another $90 million will come from industry and academic partners.

Silicon Valley-based FlexTech was awarded the contract after a highly competitive national bidding process, making it the first Manufacturing Innovation Institute to be established on the West Coast. The flexible hybrid electronics institute will be the seventh of nine such manufacturing institutes launched by the Obama administration, six of which were awarded by the DOD. 

The new institute will bring together the best minds from government, industry and academia to advance U.S. leadership in manufacturing flexible hybrid electronics. The emerging flexible hybrid electronics sector is revolutionizing the electronics industry.

The malleable nature of flexible hybrid electronics allows sensors and electronics to be incorporated into anything from clothing to roads.

The cooperative agreement will be managed by the U.S. Air Force Research laboratory. The institute’s activities are expected to accelerate the development of military technology, focusing on critical DOD needs while also creating new commercial opportunities in the sector.