WASHINGTON – As part of a continued push to encourage energy innovation and commercialization, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) today issued their first solicitation for proposals that help bring cutting-edge energy technologies to market. The office’s Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) has been newly infused this year with $20 million from… Keep reading →
On September 15, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2996, the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation (RAMI) Act. The Act “earmarks up to $300 million in federal funding — $30 million annually for 10 years” from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account, and would be available to regional centers to develop new products and train workforces. Fields mentioned in the bill as eligible for the money include “nanotechnology, advanced ceramics, photonics and optics, composites, biobased and advanced materials, flexible hybrid technologies and tool development for microelectronics.” The RAMI Act has a companion bill in the Senate where it could be voted on as early as this fall. More information on the RAMI Act is available online. The full text of the RAMI Act can be found online.
The same GPS technology that guided smart bombs during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 is now in your smart phone and there are numerous additional examples of technology borne from US Defense Department innovators – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) – that exploded (pardon the pun) into mainstream commercial applications. Well, if it worked… Keep reading →
You may have noticed a new look and functionality to the Energy Department’s funding and financing resources page. This week, we launched our Funding & Financing portal — a new online resource to help financiers and developers of energy technology and projects find the applicable program for funding and financing energy projects and businesses. As a Senior… Keep reading →
The US federal government has set aside more than a quarter of a billion dollars to fund the demonstration of a small modular (SMR) nuclear reactor in the US, with potential total funding rising to close to half a billion dollars. With smaller-scale nuclear technology widely discussed as the future of the troubled sector, a whos-who of companies are expected to participate in the project and apply for the funds.
Westinghouse Electric Company, based in Pittsburgh but part of Japan’s Toshiba, has submitted a letter of intent saying it will compete for the SMR nuclear deployment acceleration grant. The company is showcasing a 225 MW-equivalent integral pressurized water reactor that leverages technology from its already-licensed AP1000 nuclear power plant design. Keep reading →
