America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) have launched a new open project call that aims to demonstrate and validate a framework for evaluating corrosion testing needs in metal additive manufacturing.
Funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Manufacturing Technology Office (OSD ManTech) and worth a total of $1.3M, the Corrosion of Additive – Tested At Component Scale (CATACS) project will also seek to generate data applicable to metal additive manufacturing with similar corrosion performance requirements. Two awards are anticipated.
The project call has been made in line with increasing interest in additive manufacturing from the Department of Defense (DOD). According to the DOD, qualification and certification for metal 3D printed parts remains a barrier 'due to a lack of widely accepted testing and processing methods.' The CATACS program therefore aims to establish and validate a framework for evaluating AM metal part corrosion testing needs, focusing on representative testing at the component scale in two critical areas: high-temperature environments and thermal management systems.
“CATACS is about putting real AM hardware to the test in harsh conditions — because corrosion will find the weak points,” said Ben DiMarco, Technology Transition Director at America Makes. “We’re asking proposers to bring their best parts, set a plan to stress them in extreme environments, and let the sea attack. That is CATACS.”
According to America Makes, projects should feature validated prototypes tested in relevant settings (TRL 4–7), not early-stage concepts. They should also show manufacturability through pilot builds and controlled processes (MRL 4–7), with a clear path to repeatable production at the onset of the proposed project.
The CATACS request for proposal (RFP) is separated into two topic areas.
- Topic 1 – Corrosion of AM Components at Elevated Temperatures: Demonstrate corrosion performance of AM components requiring elevated temperature capability in representative environments beyond lab air, considering pressure-vessel conditions, fuel-air mixtures, differing surface exposures, and metallurgical interactions with adjacent components.
- Topic 2 – Corrosion of AM Components for Thermal Management: Demonstrate corrosion performance of metal AM thermal management components, focusing on interactions between AM microstructures and one or more working fluids under varying thermal conditions across complex geometries and flow channels.
Project call timeline:
- Launch: October 7, 2025
- Kickoff Webinar: October 16, 2025 (Registration Required HERE)
- Questions Due from Proposers about Scope or Approach: October 23, 2025
- Membership Eligibility Deadline: November 20, 2025
- Submission Deadline by 5 p.m. ET: December 2, 2025
- Anticipated Awards Announcement: January 6, 2026
Proposers for the project call are advised to reference the RFP for full details and guidelines.
