On March 24, 2026, the GO Virginia State Board approved a $4.2 million statewide competitive project between Regions 2 and 3 focused on growing advanced manufacturing.

Region 2 consists of the cities of Covington, Lynchburg, Radford, Roanoke, and Salem and the counties of Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski, and Roanoke, and Region 3 includes the cities of Danville and Martinsville and the counties of Amelia, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, Henry, Lunenberg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Patrick, Pittsylvania, and Prince Edward.

New River Valley Regional Commission AM2 Initiative to Grow Advanced Manufacturing in Regions 2 & 3

The New River Valley Regional Commission will use four strategies to create agile, resilient, and affordable solutions for advanced manufacturing with a focus on growing the regional market share in additive manufacturing and advanced materials (AM2) production. Partners include the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research (IALR), Onward NRV, Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance, Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement, and Virginia Tech MADE: Center for Advanced Manufacturing.

The first strategy focuses on creating and facilitating access to AM2 Innovation Studios that will offer support to manufacturers in designing, refining, and testing technologies, processes, and products. A site at IALR in Danville will focus on production-scale testing in real-world conditions. Existing labs and machinery at Virginia Tech's Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science’s Matter Labs will support small-scale testing. 

The second strategy will embed AM2 Innovation Fellows, a group of subject matter experts that will work with companies to support their individual needs and help to accelerate the commercialization timeline of new and emerging technologies. Led by the Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Alliance, Danville’s SOVA Innovation Hub, The Launch Place, Virginia Tech’s Launch: Center for New Ventures, and VTC Ventures, the fellows will connect companies with practical support in areas such as additive manufacturing, robotics, and artificial intelligence.  

The third strategy will launch the AM2 Career Network, where partners will create new pathways for students and workers, from high school curriculum to paid internships and apprenticeships.  

The Career Network will develop career and technical education curriculum aimed at gaps in ninth and 10th grade programming. Partners also plan to create apprenticeships and place at least 25 paid interns with regional companies. In its first two years, the initiative is expected to generate 100 jobs through business attraction and company expansions. 

Virginia Manufacturers Association & Manufacturing Skills Institute will develop the first industry-certified AM2 credential in the nation in collaboration with Central Virginia Community College, Danville Community College, New River Community College, Patrick & Henry Community College, Virginia Western Community College, and IALR’s ATDM Program. 

The final strategy will grow the AM2 Consortium, a coalition of industry and service providers who coordinate AM2 project activities, consortium meetings and networking opportunities, and outreach and promotional efforts for the AM2 Initiative and regional companies.

“GO Virginia has been a terrific partner by championing and investing in our most promising opportunities in the New River Valley. Its support is advancing what we do as a region,” said Kevin Byrd, executive director of the New River Valley Regional Commission. “Over the next several years, we’re excited to see the number of AM2-made products grow as we streamline adoption of these technologies and lead the nation in developing a skilled workforce.” 

“Additive manufacturing and advanced materials are key drivers for U.S. manufacturing,” said Nanci Hardwick, CEO of MELD Manufacturing Corporation, MELD PrintWorks Corporation, and Aeroprobe Corporation. "Promoting the region as an advanced manufacturing hub will lay the foundation for attracting more talent and businesses to the region." 

The project team received $98,859 from GO Virginia in 2023 for a planning grant titled NRV Materials & Machinery Cluster Scale-Up, which they matched with $500,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). This planning grant developed the Additive Manufacturing & Advanced Materials Tech Hub 10 Year Roadmap, which serves as the driver of all project activities in this statewide competitive implementation grant. The AM2 consortium also recently applied for $44 million from U.S. EDA through the Disaster Recovery program.

“It is exciting to see the GO Virginia process work as intended with the culmination of a successful planning grant converted into an implementation grant. This new grant will help cement the already robust manufacturing sector in regions 2 and 3 by fostering an ecosystem well poised to expand the advance technologies and workforce to maintain a competitive manufacturing advantage in these regions,” said Paul Denham, chair of the GO Virginia Region 2 council.

The GO Virginia board approved a total of $4,230,160 in state funds for the project, which is leveraging $2,115,080 in non-state sources.

Contact
Jemma Sabokrouh
GO Virginia Program Manager
jemma@vt.edu
(540) 824-2183