Media cover UMaine, Oak Ridge National Laboratory research collaboration announcement

The Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald, Maine Public, WABI (Channel 5), Mainebiz, Maine Startups Insider, Biofuels Digest and The Oak Ridger reported the University of Maine and Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced a research collaboration to help the forest products industry. The federally funded, $20 million manufacturing partnership will involve 3D printing using bioplastics made with wood fiber. “The material is nanocellulose, basically a tree ground up to its nano structure. These materials have properties similar to metals,” said Habib Dagher, executive director of UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center. “We are taking those and putting them in bioplastics so we can make very strong plastics that we can make almost anything with.” The largest 3D printer in the world will be used for a variety of large-scale manufacturing applications, including printing boat hull molds, shelters, building components, wind blades and more, according to Dagher. “This is the beginning of a long road. We haven’t even thought of all the possibilities,” Dagher said. The collaboration is intended to make 3D printing more useful in manufacturing and reinvigorate Maine’s forest products industry by finding new uses for wood-based products, the BDN reported. Through the partnership, students and faculty will be able to visit Oak Ridge’s facility in Tennessee, and Oak Ridge staff will be able to visit UMaine’s composites center, so members from each institution can learn more about the other’s area of expertise, said Dagher. “This collaboration is a shining example of UMaine’s commitment to exceptional research, workforce development, and economic advancement benefiting Maine and beyond,” said Joan Ferrini-Mundy, president of UMaine. “This partnership will allow our faculty and students to work seamlessly with Oak Ridge researchers, learn, innovate and strength local manufacturing.” The initiative was announced in Washington, D.C. on May 2, according to the articles. The Chattanoogan and Composites World published a UMaine news release about the announcement.