SYRACUSE, NY, July 29, 2016 – Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) recently announced that five Central New York companies have received the SyracuseCoE 2016 Innovation Fund Award in total $36,199. The Innovation Fund is supported by funding from SyracuseCoE Partners and is designed to support Partners’ efforts to overcome barriers to the commercialization of potentially transformative innovations.
The five award-winning companies and their projects are:
- The Standard Hydrogen Corporation of Ithaca, for their project to clear remaining obstacles in building the initial demonstration station by building a financial and physical model of the proposed system.
- Sparkcharge of Syracuse, for their project of the portable electric charging stations. Their model allows electric car owners to choose the amount of portable energy they bring and provides a safety net when traveling long distances where charging stations are scarce.
- EkoStinger, Inc of Rochester, for their product called EkoStinger that addresses the emissions reduction from semitrailers pulling 48’ and 53’ trailers.
- Kohilo of Auburn, for increasing the number of shifts from one to three thereby increasing the output of clean energy wind turbines and the number of jobs available in the Syracuse area.
- LC Drives of Potsdam, for making improvements in efficiency, and overall weight of the wind technology in hopes of decreasing the cost of a wind turbine system.
“The Innovation Fund Awards are a remarkable example of how members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program have a direct impact on moving technology toward commercialization and creating meaningful opportunities for Central New York companies,” said Ed Bogucz, SyracuseCoE executive director. “The awards, based on technical merit and sound principles, have tremendous potential to strengthen each company through the success of their projects.”
After an initial review by SyracuseCoE staff, selected applicants were invited to participate in a proposal pitch to a panel of judges, including members of the SyracuseCoE Industry Partners Council, SyracuseCoE staff and others. Proposals for Round 2 of the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund will be invited to submit again in 2017.
Eligibility for awards is extended to all current members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program. Proposals may include collaborations with non-Partner Program firms and academic partners; however, proposals must be submitted and led by members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program.