MI2 Strategy Group Updates

Here are the latest updates from MI2's four strategy groups, based on the four strategic focus areas outlined by MI2's Metals Leadership Council, and some status updates on multiple projects and initiatives taking place under the guidance of those groups.Sustainability Strategy GroupLogan Aluminum's Van Mitchell is helping leading the effort for a two-part trial: a hydrogen fuel cell powered truck for use in the company's storage warehouse, where the environment is clean and the life of the truck will be optimized, and an electric battery powered truck for other environments. The plan is to have the pilot live by fall.Meanwhile, Novelis' Elli Tindall and Tina Kosmicki are continuing to lead a project on waste heat, looking both at best practices for measuring waste heat as well as ideas and inspiration for uses for what companies can do with excess heat they create.Also, the team was excited to have Novelis Carbon Reduction Intern Alex Grilli join the meeting. Alex is working on a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, where he works in the Sustainable Design and Manufacturing Lab. At Novelis, he is working as part of the Energy Reduction and Sustainable Engineering (ERASE) R&D group.The Sustainability group is looking to host their June meeting once again in person.Talent and Workforce Strategy GroupThe Talent and Workforce Strategy Group discussed the second pilot Bus to Business program MI2 worked with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce on, bringing early high school students from Todd County High School to Logan Aluminum as they consider their potential career pathways. The team is enthusiastic to plan over the summer and seek ways to expand on this and related programs in partnership with the Kentucky Chamber and other ecosystem partners.Meanwhile, a separate meeting was scheduled to discuss and review the recent analysis Fox Management Consulting and Temple University conducted of Kentucky's current metals talent pipeline. The strategy group and MI2's core team is looking into a range of followup initiatives likely to come out of the Temple team's work. A related project was taken up by a University of Louisville College of Business capstone course, using MI2 member Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products as a case study. Further insights from both projects will be shared across MI2 and will inform future Talent & Workforce projects to come.Also, this month, the strategy group welcomed Wieland North America Talent Acquisition Manager Morgan Eiler to the team.Branding Strategy GroupThe Branding Strategy Group is implementing a questionnaire to inform the Metals Industry Guide that MI2 is creating in partnership with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. The short survey will be going out to companies throughout Kentucky's metals ecosystem throughout June to help collect statistics, information, and powerful stories about Kentucky's strong metals industries.Meanwhile, MI2's communications team is working with the metals industry communication personas project started by members of the Branding strategy group to create a more robust set of personas to guide the communication of MI2 and metals companies with these various stakeholder groups. MI2 is adding a user experience/design team member in June, who will be working with and further developing these personas as part of her onboarding. And the document will then the shared with communication leaders across MI2 member companies for feedback and insights.Finally, plans are coming together swiftly for the MI2 Factory of the Future conference to be held in early September in Louisville. Details of the schedule are being finalized and will be shared with the wider MI2 community in the weeks ahead.Grants and Funding Strategy GroupMI2 team member Ruthie Caldwell joined all the other strategy groups in May to talk about the work of the Grants and Funding Strategy Group and her work leading MI2 initiatives for identifying and pursuing grant opportunities for the metals ecosystem in Kentucky.With two major wins coming in the past month from US National Science Foundation and US Department of Labor funded projects for which MI2 is a partner, as highlighted in this month's newsletter, there is significant interest in helping bring ecosystem partners together around additional grant opportunities. The Grants and Funding group is working with the MI2 Core Team to explore several ways to bring that work to life, including piloting use of short two-pagers, a grant directory, and other communication mechanisms to help people understand grant opportunities that lie ahead relevant to metals innovation projects.