Defense officials told executives of Minnesota’s largest companies on Friday that the state could play a bigger role in national security and defense programs.
“Minnesota is already involved in our national security, but Minnesota has a bigger role to play. The bottom line is that Minnesota needs to do more,” the U.S. Rep. said. Betty McCollum talks to leaders from 75 defense contractors and other industries.
The event took place Friday at Saint Louis University. Thomas in St. Paul, including remarks by U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Heidi Schuh. Her visit to Minnesota was designed to highlight the efforts of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to bring together the best technical, academic, commercial and military talent and drive innovative products to improve national security.
Officials from Cargill, Stratasys, Northrup Grumman, BAE Systems, Cummins, Calspan, Verterra Energy, Greater MSP and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development attended.
In her comments, Shyu said there is often a disconnect between how the Department of Defense operates and how companies large and small have traditionally worked, developed innovative products and evolved.
For example, the Defense Department typically needs to know its inventory acquisition targets five years in advance, Shyu said.
However, small and large companies usually work in annual increments. Contract decisions and subsequent defense funding have taken a long time for many of these companies to transition from prototyping to mass production for the Department of Defense and its allies.
Shyu said the government is working to shorten such delays. It also invests in Minnesota companies specializing in renewable energy, energy storage, hypersonic technology, semiconductors and other microelectronics.
Rep. McCollum, D-Minnesota, chairman of the U.S. House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, helped pass a $762 billion defense spending bill in the House in June.
Company executives asked McCollum and Shyu to help small businesses better understand the government’s product needs so they could stop duplicating work — or better coordinate with other companies also seeking federal aid for their high-tech projects.
Others said they had considered closing the defense products division within the company to focus on commercial customers with simpler processes. Others noted that business certainty provides stable, consistent employment opportunities for their employees.
As defense chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives, McCollum said she often hears similar business challenges and concerns.
Shyu and McCollum on Friday visited several Minnesota companies that plan to receive defense funding for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
At Verterra Energy Paul in St. Petersburg, founder Ted Christopher explains how his small portable hydroelectric “energy pods” are placed in rivers to collect and store energy.
Verterra, which has nine employees working on a portable microgrid project with the Army Corps of Engineers, will receive $18 million in Defense Department funding.
Shyu saw the need for zero-emission and safe fuel during a visit to Afghanistan and spoke with a US soldier who was seriously injured when the tanker she was driving was attacked.
McCollum and Shyu visited Saint Louis University. Thomas’ microgrid research center has received $16.5 million in Defense Department funding over two years, along with Calspan ASE, a St. Louis-based hypersonic testing company. Paul is considering $124.4 million in defense funding.
The pair also visited Skywater Technology, a semiconductor chip company that will receive $18 million in defense funding this year and $25 million next year.
“The Department of Defense is looking for solutions, they are looking for partners [in Minnesota]”What they heard from this room this morning is that we are ready to work with them and become a partner,” said Peter Frosch, CEO of Greater MSP Partnership. The Department of Defense prioritizes many issues and challenges that we are already working on. So the timing of this conversation was perfect. “