NorTech

On November 5, 2008 The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released an update to their 2006 report entitled, The Energy Imperative: Technology and the Role of Emerging Companies. The original report highlighted entrepreneurial and private-sector innovation in clean energy technologies and also outlined policy recommendations to reduce our Nation’s dependence on foreign oil. The updated report discusses recent developments in energy trends and energy policy as well as progress made on implementing recommendations from the 2006 report.

According to PCAST:

“Over the past two years we have seen notable improvements in energy supply and demand trends. Since 2005, net oil imports in the United States have declined by almost 10 percent - from 12.5 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2005 to 11.3 mbd for the first eight months of 2008. There are also significant advances in the commercial viability of advanced energy technologies. Further, over the past two years, important new Federal energy policies have been enacted, including the renewable fuel standard and vehicle fuel economy standard that you proposed to Congress in January 2007 and signed into law in December 2007.”

The update points out that in order to maintain the progress made since 2006, major improvements are needed in technologies such as second-generation biofuels, energy storage for vehicles, and advanced nuclear reactors. Large-scale commercial viability of these technologies will require fundamental breakthroughs and technology innovation. Ultimately, the report issues a call for more Federal funding for energy research and development to bring these technologies and ideas to fruition and ensure long-term sustainability and prosperity.

Interesting facts found in the report:

In the US venture capital sector, clean energy technologies have garnered as much as 20 percent of all venture investments in recent quarters. In the first three quarters of 2008, over $5 billion worth of investments were made in clean energy technologies, a 50 percent increase over all of 2007.

Therefore, most new based load power generation will still need to come from coal, natural gas, or nuclear energy.Click here to download a copy of the complete update.

More about the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST):
President Bush established the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) by Executive Order 13226 in September 2001. Under this Executive Order, PCAST “shall advise the President … on matters involving science and technology policy,” and “shall assist the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in securing private sector involvement in its activities.” The NSTC is a cabinet-level council that coordinates interagency research and development activities and science and technology policy making processes across federal departments and agencies. PCAST enables the President to receive advice from the private sector, including the academic community, on important issues relative to technology, scientific research, math and science education, and other topics of national concern. The PCAST-NSTC link provides a mechanism to enable the publicprivate exchange of ideas that inform the federal science and technology policy making processes.

As a private sector advisory committee, PCAST recommendations do not constitute Administration policy but rather advice to the Administration in the S&T arena. PCAST follows a tradition of Presidential advisory panels on science and technology dating back to Presidents Eisenhower and Truman. The Council’s 35 members, appointed by the President, are drawn from industry, educational and research institutions, and other nongovernmental organizations. In addition, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy serves as PCAST’s Co-Chair.  www.ostp.gov/cs/pcast  

The State of Ohio’s Third Frontier Project recently released a Request For Proposals for the Research Commercialization Grant Program. Up to $2 million in grants will be awarded for projects that improve the commercial viability of technologies developed through federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) and Advanced Technology Program (ATP) research and development projects. The grants will improve the ability of small technology companies to assess and realize the commercial potential of research projects and to promote the competitiveness of these companies through the augmentation of federal research and development funding.

For more information, please visit the Third Frontier website. The deadline to submit a letter of intent is December 18th. Completed proposals are due January 22nd. Awards announcements for this grant will be announced late April 2009.

About the Third Frontier Project:
The Third Frontier Project was initiated in February 2002. This project is the state’s largest-ever commitment to expanding Ohio’s high-tech research capabilities and promoting innovation and company formation that will create high-paying jobs for generations to come. The 10-year, $1.6 billion initiative is designed to:

• Build world-class research capacity
• Support early stage capital formation and the development of new products
• Finance advanced manufacturing technologies to help existing industries become more productive

Through the Third Frontier Project, additional federal and private sector support can boost the total investment to more than $6 billion. Through the Third Frontier Project and related initiatives, the state offers a comprehensive set of programs that support world-class research, commercialization, training, and information technology infrastructure designed to accelerate company growth and job creation throughout Ohio.

November 12, 2008  - TechLift, a program funded by Ohio’s Third Frontier Project,  created to serve the business needs of Northeast Ohio’s technology entrepreneurs, is leading an effort to connect local technology companies with federal funding opportunities at the 2008 National Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Conference, November 12-14 in Hartford, Connecticut.

Eight TechLift-supported companies have been selected to participate in the conference that also provides the opportunity to meet one-on-one with federal government agency representatives and with large sponsor companies interested in innovation and technology development.

Local TechLift-supported companies attending the conference include: Contained Energy, Light Curable Coatings, Phycal, 24plug, Powdermet, PTS Enterprises of Ohio LLC, Tremont Electric and Precision Made Products. TechLift will be partially subsidizing a portion of travel expenses for companies participating in the conference.

The Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI), a TechLift partner, is providing coaching assistance to companies to prepare them for meetings and presentations with funding agencies at the conference. Since TechLift’s inception in October 2007, OAI has hosted a series of federal funding and SBIR grant writing workshops, training programs to teach small technology companies how to develop winning proposals, and established a subsidized Grant Writing Assistance Program to support proposal development and writing.  This collection of services further bolsters the TechLift program and helps technology companies to be more competitive in the pursuit of federal funding opportunities.

“OAI has experience working with federal government agencies in the aerospace industry and we’re happy to partner with TechLift to lend our expertise to technology entrepreneurs who want to start and grow a business in Northeast Ohio. The ability to attract more federal dollars to the region would allow for further development of our local technology economy,” said Donald Majcher, Vice President of Technology and Innovation Partnerships at the Ohio Aerospace Institute.

“Access to capital is always a hurdle for technology start-up companies. By providing connections to public and private funding resources, a company can move to its next stage of growth. OAI’s federal funding and grant writing assistance programs have been a great tool to help companies compete for federal funds and I believe that the companies attending the SBIR conference will be competitive in the awards process,”  said Chris Mather, Director of TechLift.

TechLift is focused on supporting, coaching and nurturing Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs in the region’s five technology strengths: advanced materials, electronics, information technology, biosciences and advanced energy. TechLift provides a variety of other business assistance services which include strategic and business planning, talent and staffing assistance, and fundraising assistance. All services are provided to technology entrepreneurs free of charge.

If you are a technology entrepreneur interested in TechLift’s services, please visit http://www.techlift.org/ to apply and connect with an Entrepreneur-in-Residence.

About TechLift:
TechLift is a program designed to provide unparalleled services to technology entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio. Through TechLift, technology entrepreneurs receive a number of services both directly from TechLift Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, as well as via TechLift collaborators, JumpStart, BioEnterprise,, Akron Global Business Accelerator, Braintree, GLIDE, MAGNET, and Youngstown Business Incubator.  TechLift companies find access to capital from TechLift pre-seed investment funds, JumpStart, Glengary, NorthCoast Angel Fund, GLIDE Innovation Fund and the Cuyahoga County North Coast Opportunities Technology Fund, as well as through a network of angel and other funders.  TechLift was formed in 2007 by NorTech funded by a $15 million grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Project’s Entrepreneurial Signature Program, and supported by matching funds from regional public and private organizations.  TechLift’s objective is to make Northeast Ohio the best place in the U.S. to start and grow a technology business.  For more information about TechLift, visit: http://www.techlift.org/

About the Ohio Aerospace Institute:
OAI is a joint initiative of the NASA Glenn Research Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the State of Ohio, ten Ohio public and private universities granting doctoral degrees in aerospace related engineering disciplines, and numerous companies engaged in aerospace activities. Our mission is to build Ohio’s aerospace economy through research and technology development, education and training, collaboration and information exchange. Today, OAI has approximately 80 employees and $16M in annual revenue. http://www.oai.org/