Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub
Lead Agency: Maine Technology Institute
State Served: Maine
Applicant-Defined Region: Portland-S.Portland; Bangor; Lewiston-Auburn; and Augusta-Waterville MSAs
Core Technology Area: sustainable wood biomass polymers
Contact: Scott Kleiman (scott.kleiman@maine.gov)
Media Contact: Jackie Farwell (Jackie.E.Farwell@maine.gov)
Organizational Link: https://mainetechhub.us/
The Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub, led by the Maine Technology Institute, aims to become a global leader in forest-based biomaterial production and manufacturing by extracting biological building blocks from forests, manipulating them for use, and manufacturing environmentally sustainable products from those components. The Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub seeks to accelerate the development and deployment of these natural products which can displace plastics, sequester carbon, and replace toxic chemicals while bolstering U.S. supply chain resilience.
The Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub seeks to become the region of choice for firms developing, manufacturing, and selling innovative, climate-forward products derived from forests by bringing together the state government, higher education institutions, industry partners, economic development organizations, and labor and workforce training organizations.
In January 2025, EDA announced that it selected this Tech Hub to receive grant funding of approximately $22 million to implement two projects, including:
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bridging forest bioproducts technological innovations with the commercialization resources and partnerships necessary to successfully bring that intellectual property to market at a globally competitive scale and serving as the backbone organization for the consortium, coordinating governance, strategy, evaluation, and community engagement; and
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strengthening a pipeline of innovations (functionalized feedstocks, applications, and manufacturing technologies), de-risking these innovations with technical assistance, and leveraging new commercialization, advanced manufacturing, and workforce resources of the Tech Hub to accelerate the most promising innovations.
Designee Narrative (PDF) (submitted by the designee in its Phase 2 application package)
Additional Designations Earned in Region
