Local Motors and ORNL Partner for Automotive Manufacturing
Local Motors, a vehicle innovator, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have announced a new partnership that they hope will bring change to the automotive industry.
Due to the cooperative research and development agreement, they aim to aid in the design and manufacturing of vehicles in a way that is not only cost efficient, but time efficient as well. They plan to achieve this goal by using material science and advanced manufacturing techniques.
“By invoking the principle of open-source, this partnership – and future efforts like it – will drive a true paradigm shift in hardware product development and automotive manufacturing technologies,” said Jay Rogers, Co-Founder and CEO of Local Motors. “Just as exciting as the vision of delivering the first direct digital manufactured car is that we will be engaging future consumers to contribute and evangelize its creation. We are living in a time when speed to market trumps slow-going protectionism. Local Motors’ open development platform is what delivers this very speed.”
Local Motors will work with the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at ORNL. This facility is a research laboratory that focuses on additive, subtractive, and direct digital manufacturing. However, unlike others, they do so in a way that reduces life-cycle energy as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
“We expect the result of our partnership to be an indisputable win for open source design and the development of complex mechanical devices. The entrepreneurial nature of the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and Oak Ridge National Lab is an inspiring example of this nation’s renewed commitment to leadership and innovation in manufacturing,” said Rogers.
“ORNL prides itself on 'solving the unsolvable' and 'making the unmakeable,'” said Dr. Lonnie J. Love of the lab’s Energy & Transportation Science Division. “This partnership will help push the envelope on emerging technologies, such as large scale additive manufacturing, and help accelerate the growth of manufacturing in the United States.”
