Fisher Announces $12 Million for Advanced Energy Grants
COLUMBUS, OHIO (March 25, 2008) - FISHER ANNOUNCES $12 MILLION FOR ADVANCED ENERGY GRANTS
17 Companies Receive Ohio Third Frontier Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2008
Columbus, OH -- Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher, Chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, today announced that the Commission awarded more than $12 million in grants to 17 entities to accelerate the development and growth of the advanced energy industry in Ohio.
"By strategically focusing Ohio Third Frontier resources toward the development of advanced energy technologies, we can begin to unleash the economic potential for this emerging industry," said Lt. Governor Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. "These Ohio Third Frontier investments exemplify the Strickland/Fisher Administration's unwavering commitment to growth in Ohio's advanced energy industry sector while recognizing our need for energy independence and conservation."
Awards for advanced energy were selected from the wind, solar, alternative fuel, energy storage and instruments, controls, and electronics sectors.
2008 Third Frontier Advanced Energy Award
for Wind Technologies
Parker Hannifin, located in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County) was awarded $1 million for its Sub-Megawatt Class Hydrostatic Wind Turbine Drive Train Commercialization project. Parker Hannifin, a world leader in hydraulic systems and motion control, will replace the gearbox with a hydrostatic system consisting of a hydraulic pump connected to turbine rotor and hydraulic motor at ground level connected to an electric generator.
2008 Third Frontier Advanced Energy Awards
for Alternative Fuels Technologies
Velocys, Inc., located in Plain City (Union County) was awarded $1 million for its Microchannel Enabled Process for Synthetic Biofuels and Chemicals project. Velocys will use its proprietary microchannel reactor technology to produce transportation fuels from biomass feedstocks. Using techniques developed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Velocys will be able to produce synthetic jet fuel and diesel.
The Ohio State University Research Foundation, located in Columbus (Franklin County) was awarded $1 million for its Engineering Clostrida for Economic Production of Biobutanol as a Biofuel project. The Ohio State University Research Foundation will modify biological organisms in order to attain a high butanol tolerance and to introduce a patented fibrous bed bioreactor to modify the production process.
Arisdyne Systems, Inc., located in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County) was awarded $1 million for its Application of Static, Hydrodynamic Cavitation to Improve Efficiency, Productivity and Yield in the Production of Ethanol project. Arisdyne Systems has a patented method for producing cavitation and will test and evaluate its technology on several ethanol production operations for its effectiveness. The goal is to improve starch recovery by 2 - 5 percent.
Ohio University, located in Athens (Athens County) was awarded $972,992 for its Facility for the Development and Commercialization of Ammonia-Based Fuel Integrated Power project. Ohio University will create a "Center of Excellence for Electrochemical Engineering Technologies" to be housed within its existing Electrochemical Engineering Research Laboratory. Teaming with its collaborators, it will pursue integrated ammonia catalytic electrolyzer (ACE) and fuel cell products aimed at power generation for residential and commercial buildings. In addition to supporting ACE commercialization, the facility will provide education opportunities for the work force designing, fabricating, and operating AEC products and will serve as an R&D center for ACE enhancement.
Catacel Corp., located in Garrettsville (Portage County) was awarded $759,502 for its Durability and Performance Evaluation of Catalysts on Metals project. Catacel will upgrade an existing reactor with better instrumentation; a high-pressure reactor will be modified to improve performance; and an additional reactor capable of simultaneous testing of multiple catalysts will be constructed. This equipment will allow Catacel to better respond to customer data requests, which is expected to hasten supplier qualifications and time-to-market.
Phycal, LLC, located in Shaker Heights (Cuyahoga County) was awarded $250,000 for its Development of Non-Destructive Algal Oil Extraction Process project. In the production of oil from algae, separation of the oil from the algae is a third of the total processing cost due to the small cell size and low biomass concentrations. Phycal has licensed a non-destructive extraction technology that could potentially reduce processing costs to the target oil cost of $1 per gallon. This project will develop bench and pilot scale systems to evaluate the concept and improve performance.
University of Toledo, located in Toledo (Lucas County) was awarded $250,000 for its Novel Cellulosic Biomass Fermentation Process for Ethanol Production project. The University of Toledo has developed and patented a fermentation process using technology that has been successful in fermenting both glucose and xylose sugars. The University of Toledo will conduct additional research to 1) optimize the design and performance of the enzyme, 2) develop enzymes for different feed stocks, 3) incorporate a novel biomass pre-treatment process, and 4) develop suitable yeast strains for fermentation. A complete performance evaluation and economic analysis will be conducted.
The Ohio State University Research Foundation, located in Columbus (Franklin County) was awarded $408,801 for its Carbon Negative Chemical Looping Process for Hydrogen or Liquid Fuel Synthesis Using Refuse Derived Fuel, Biomass, and/or Ohio Coal project. The Ohio State University will scale up testing from the previous bench-scale 2.5 kWt unit to a sub-pilot scale 25 kWt unit and operate continuously for 100 hours. Process performance and reliability will be evaluated under commercial conditions. The hydrogen produced will be evaluated for purity by the OSU Center for Automotive Research. A comprehensive technical and economic analysis will be performed to attract major investments from the federal government and private investors.
2008 Third Frontier Advanced Energy Awards
for Solar Technologies
The Garland Company, located in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County) was awarded $1 million for its Garland Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Systems project. The Garland Group is a long-established manufacturer of commercial roofing products that has offered solar roofing products for the past decade. Garland will collaborate with the University of Toledo to combine its roofing expertise with thin film photovoltaic technologies to produce turnkey, factory-integrated solar roofing projects.
Xunlight 26 Solar, LLC, located in Toledo (Lucas County) was awarded $996,924 for its Flexible Thin-Film CdTe PV Modules project. This project is aimed at developing building-integrated, rooftop photovoltaic systems based on lightweight modules on transparent polymer materials. Using technologies developed in Ohio, Xunlight 26 Solar will develop small area cells with greater than 10 percent efficiency; encapsulate the cells and modules and conduct accelerated life tests of the modules; and scale-up the manufacturing capability and design a production line.
Replex Plastics, located in Mount Vernon (Knox County) was awarded $350,000 for its Concentrated Solar Power project. Replex Plastics will demonstrate light concentrating mirrors for use in solar energy applications. More efficient mirrors will result in lower cost of electricity for solar installations. These prototypes will be designed, fabricated, and installed in real-world conditions for evaluation purposes.
2008 Third Frontier Advanced Energy Awards
for Instruments, Controls and Electronics Technologies
EBO Group, located in Sharon Center (Medina County) was awarded $1 million for its Innovative Oil Cooled Electric Motor Drive System to Enable Advanced Hybrid Electric Drives for Commercial Vehicles project. Project collaborator, Bowling Green State University, has developed a system of motor cooling using oil that could significantly reduce the weight and cost of hybrid drives. EBO Group and their collaborators will refine the motor design currently developed by Bowling Green State University, develop additional components (clutch and power electronics) to improve system performance, build six prototypes, and install three of these on commercial vehicles for field-testing.
NexTech Materials, Ltd., located in Lewis Center (Delaware County) was awarded $549,088 for its Market Readiness of Hydrogen Sensor for Advanced Energy Applications project. NexTech Materials will develop specifications for various customer applications, sensor element design for manufacturing, sensor electronics integration and packaging, supply chain development, establishing sensor manufacturing capability, and product validation/certification.
2008 Third Frontier Advanced Energy Awards
for Energy Storage Technologies
Applied Sciences, Inc., located in Cedarville (Greene County) was awarded $999,999 for its Development of Specialty Carbons for Energy Storage project. Applied Sciences, Inc. will develop and demonstrate a commercially feasible, advanced electrode material for lithium ion batteries with increased energy and power densities.
University of Akron Research Foundation, located in Akron (Summit County) was awarded $250,000 for its Novel Polymeric Membranes for Advanced Energy Storage Devices, Batteries and Fuel Cells project. This project's objective is to convert a prototype battery that uses a new membrane developed by eVionyx, Inc. into a commercial battery. The University of Akron will conduct polymer engineering activities to improve performance to meet specific end-use application requirements, improve product quality and uniformity, and develop a process for mass manufacture.
Inorganic Specialists, Inc., located in Miamisburg (Montgomery County) was awarded $250,000 for its Manufacturing the Next Generation Lithium Ion Anode project. Inorganic Specialists has developed a carbon nanofiber (CNF) paper that can be used in various applications including lightweight composites. This project will optimize a CNF paper for use as an anode material in lithium ion batteries. This anode material has shown the potential of increasing battery storage capacity by a factor of 4X.
The Third Frontier Advanced Energy Program is designed to help companies in Ohio continue to make technical progress toward the commercialization of advanced energy-related products for future applications. The Advanced Energy Program Funds are made available to support organizations seeking to commercialize new products, manufacturing processes or technologies, or to adapt or modify existing components or systems that can reduce the cost of advanced energy systems or address technical and commercialization barriers.
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Media Contacts: Nikki Jaworski (614) 466-9161 or Kelly Schlissberg (614) 466-4133
