Materials Manufacturing Innovation Center

Capabilities

Expertise and tools for complex manufacturing challenges

Argonne’s Materials Manufacturing Innovation Center (MMIC) offers an end-to-end manufacturing innovation pipeline.

It starts with artificial intelligence-accelerated materials discovery at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF), to real-time structural and chemical characterization at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) and Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM), to pilot-scale synthesis and processing at the Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF), to device fabrication and performance testing.

This integrated approach helps U.S. industry bring new materials and processes to market faster and more efficiently.

The shredder at Argonne’s Materials Engineering Research Facility separates critical materials used in lithium-ion batteries.

Facilities Behind Our Breakthroughs

MMIC’s research is powered by Argonne’s unique combination of national user facilities and specialized research infrastructure.

  • Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF): Argonne’s pilot-scale manufacturing research and development facility, equipped with digital twin capabilities and over a dozen advanced synthesis and processing systems, including continuous flow reactors, spray dryers, binder jet printers, atomic layer deposition systems, electrochemical processing equipment and much more.
  • Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF): Home to Aurora, one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, ALCF provides exascale computing for AI-driven materials discovery, physics-based simulation and digital twin development.
  • Advanced Photon Source (APS): The upgraded APS delivers X-ray beams up to 500 times brighter than before, enabling real-time, nanoscale characterization of materials during synthesis and processing with unprecedented resolution.
  • Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM): Advanced tools for nanoscale structure and chemistry analysis.
Users at beamlines explore the new capabilities of Argonne’s upgraded Advanced Photon Source (APS).

Core Competencies

  • Scalable Synthesis and Processing: The MERF provides advanced techniques for scaling materials from lab to pilot production. Our facilities support rapid prototyping, process development and quality assurance. MERF’s systems are designed for kilogram-scale production runs, enabling partners to validate processes at industrially relevant volumes.
  • AI and Exascale Computing: Accelerate discovery and process optimization with supercomputing, digital twins and virtual reality integration. AI-driven workflows enable autonomous experimentation, simulation and data analysis.
  • Advanced Characterization: In-situ and in-operando measurements at the APS allow researchers to observe materials’ behavior in real time during synthesis, processing or device operation. Insights gleaned from these observations are critical for optimizing manufacturing processes.
  • Modeling and Simulation: Multi-scale modeling, techno-economic analysis, and life cycle assessment for process validation and optimization. Our expertise helps partners understand the economic and environmental impact of new technologies. ALCF’s computing power enables simulations at scales that would be impractical elsewhere.
  • Device Fabrication and Testing: Integrate materials into devices for performance evaluation and application readiness. Argonne supports the transition from material development to real-world deployment in batteries, electrochemical cells and coating on substrates.
The Near Ambient Pressure XPS system allows for surface chemical analysis in situ under both ultra-high vacuum conditions and real-time monitoring of dynamic surface changes at elevated pressures and temperatures. It is available to researchers at Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM).

Specialized Areas

  • Chemical Manufacturing Scale-Up: Argonne specializes in novel reactor design, process optimization and pilot-scale production for industrial chemicals. Our team helps partners scale processes efficiently and reliably.
  • Grid and Battery Innovation: Argonne advances materials synthesis, battery recycling, and critical mineral recovery for energy storage and grid technology. Our work supports the deployment of energy solutions and electric mobility.
  • Data Center and Microelectronics: Argonne develops cooling materials, microelectronics fabrication and digital twin-enabled optimization for next-generation computing infrastructure. Our research supports the growth of high-performance data centers and advanced electronics. Argonne doesn’t just study data center challenges, it runs one of the world’s most advanced computing facilities. 

Let’s Get Started

Leverage our capabilities for your manufacturing needs.