THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO ESTABLISH A DOMESTIC, VERTICALLY INTEGRATED WET-LAID NONWOVEN PRODUCTION CAPABILITY TO PRODUCE AT LEAST 650,000 M2 OF CARBON VEIL SUBSTRATES PER YEAR USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF GAS DIFFUSION MEDIA FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY STORAGE AND CONVERSION DEVICES. CURRENTLY THERE IS NO DOMESTIC SOURCE FOR THESE WET-LAID NONWOVEN CARBON PAPERS, WHICH IMPACTS THE SECURITY OF SUPPLY FOR DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND INCREASES BOTH THE COST OF DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING AND THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF THE DOMESTIC PRODUCTION PROCESS DUE TO TRANSPORTATION. THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES THESE KEY AREAS OF CONCERN BY ESTABLISHING A DOMESTIC PRODUCTION SOURCE FOR THESE WET-LAID NONWOVEN PAPERS, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY CHARACTERIZING THE CURRENT STATE-OF-THE-ART PAPERS AND INVESTIGATING METHODS TO IMPROVE UNIFORMITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE GAS DIFFUSION LAYER (GDL) PRODUCTS.