A project at the University of South Carolina-Aiken has taken the next step toward becoming reality.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has selected a contractor for the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative, a $50 million dollar joint venture with the Department of Energy and Savannah River Site.
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North Wind Construction Services, an Idaho Falls, ID. based company, will design and construct the AMC on the campus of USC-Aiken. There’s no word on when construction will begin but completion is expected in 2024.
News of the AMC facility was announced last fall with representatives from the University and SRS along with local, state and federal government officials, including South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, DOE Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar and Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon. The announcement was made on the USC-Aiken campus and included the unveiling of a 3D model of the facility.
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In an April 1, 2021 news release DOE stated, “The AMC Facility will provide new laboratory, office, and conference space suitable for advanced manufacturing research and development and will be conducive to laboratory, university, and industry collaboration. Specifically, the AMC Facility will provide administrative, research and manufacturing areas for the design and development of chemical engineering reactions, processes, and materials as well as the production of mechanical and electrical components”.
The university says the new facility will also deal in cybersecurity and other STEM technologies. It will operate in partnership with another major facility to be built on campus. That’s a partnership with the South Carolina National Guard’s planned $30-million dollar DreamPort cybersecurity center. That project was announced in February 2021.
“DreamPort is expected to be the home of the South Carolina National Guard’s 125th Cyber Battalion, currently headquartered at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina,” said Captain Jessica C. Donnelly.
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It will also work with the U.S. Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon.
According to Captain Donnelly, factoring in the time required for the Department of Defense to allocate the funds, choose a contractor and finalize contracts, construction of DreamPort on the University campus is expected to begin in 2024.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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