The Department of Energy has dedicated $192 million to funding opportunities for projects that aim to advance cost-effective consumer battery recycling technologies.

The investment will be distributed to the Consumer Electronics Battery Recycling, Reprocessing, and Battery Collection funding opportunity, the Advanced Battery Research and Development Consortium funding opportunity and the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize, DOE announced Monday.

The Consumer Electronics Battery Recycling funding opportunity is focused on influencing consumer behavior to increase their participation in recycling programs. It is also interested in proposals that can lower the cost of recycling to boost market demand for the process. The deadline for applications is on Nov. 29.

The Advanced Battery R&D Consortium is working toward widespread adoption of and commercialization of electric vehicles. It is looking for vendors that can improve supply chain for EV batteries and address other challenges in repurposing such components. Applicants must submit their proposals by Sept. 8.

The Battery Recycling Prize has given $5.5 million in awards to innovators since 2019. This year, DOE is allocating $7.4 million for the fourth phase of the competition, as well as a Breakthrough Contest to provide additional incentives. Participants must demonstrate how their technologies can help transition discarded batteries from consumers to recyclers.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for companies that can help produce battlefield-ready anesthetics that are safe to be administered by general military forces.

The agency on Monday unveiled the Anesthetics for Battlefield Care program in an aim to find easy-to-deliver anesthetic cocktails to reduce trauma for warfighters and civilians, and increase life-saving interventions in combat.

The ABC program is divided into two phases: first is the discovery of novel anesthesia-related targets and mechanisms and the second is drug development based on the discovery phase.

The participating vendors will collaborate with DARPA, the Food and Drug Administration, independent verification and validation partners and other regulatory agencies.

“Anesthetics for Battlefield Care is de-risking a problem that while targeted to the U.S. Department of Defense, will be disruptive to all of medicine. It could benefit first response from rural emergency services, to air medical services, all the way to level I trauma centers,” ABC Program Manager Michael Feasel explained.

DARPA will host a proposers’ day on June 16 to provide more details and answer questions from interested parties about the program.

The Department of Defense is undertaking a scholarship-for-service pilot program with various American universities to drive students’ interest in civilian occupations that support the DOD acquisition system.

Eighty students will initially become part of the Defense Civilian Training Corps program in August to engage in immersive learning through experiential and multidisciplinary educational approaches, paid internships and challenge projects, DOD said Monday.

Participants will have the chance to undergo the department’s expedited process for security clearance and pursue direct employment within the department once they graduate.

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Purdue University, University of Arizona and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are currently evaluating DCTC applicants via a competitive selection process.

“DCTC will complement other workforce initiatives, while finding and developing the acquisition talent pipeline that is mission-driven on Day One to increase the DOD’s lethality, readiness and modernization as an enduring advantage over U.S. competitors,” said Tanya Skeen, acting assistant defense secretary for acquisition.

More than 50 representatives from DOD and the academic sector celebrated the launch of the initiative during a Thursday event at the Pentagon.

Air Force Materiel Command has released a white paper detailing its approach to accelerating the acquisition materiel lifecycle to deliver the latest warfighting capabilities.

The document, titled “Digital Materiel Management: An Accelerated Future State,” outlines key objectives that focus on harnessing the power of data, models and infrastructure to stay ahead of adversaries in sustainment and modernization efforts, AFMC said Monday.

To achieve a competitive advantage, AFMC aims to structure and secure data, modernize its information technology infrastructure, provide access to DMM tools and develop digital strategies.

The command is also working to instill a digital-first culture, train its workforce in digital technologies and strengthen collaboration between industry and government.

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Technology Centers Division has released a strategic framework that aligns and focuses its research portfolio and communicates its priorities and objectives for the next three years.

The Technology Centers Research Agenda outlines the directorate’s investment priorities in research areas including advanced sensing, artificial intelligence and automation, biotechnology, cyber resiliency and novel materials and secure manufacturing, Melanie Cummings, director of the Technology Centers Division, wrote in an article published Monday.

According to the agenda, S&T aims to increase the resilience of the communications networks that are used to share voice and data between devices and mitigate the impacts of “adversarial AI” on homeland security missions.

Cummings said the directorate is also seeking to boost interagency collaboration on mission areas outlined in the framework.

“For our part, we continue to study all aspects of how advances in science and technology can be used to secure the homeland more effectively, in addition to understanding the vulnerabilities and potential misuses,” Cummings said.