January 22, 2010

Four New York Companies to Receive $610,315 in NYSERDA Funding to Improve Industrial Processes, Reduce Energy Consumption, and Cut Manufacturing Costs

Nearly $4 Million Funding Awarded to 19 New York State Companies Over the Last Year to Improve Production Methods and Help Strengthen State’s Economy

Albany January 22, 2010—The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today announced it will award four New York companies $610,315 for manufacturing research and development (R&D) projects that will improve energy efficiency, reduce environmental impacts, and offer potential benefits to a wide variety of industries in New York and around the country.

With the funding announced today, NYSERDA will have allocated nearly $4 million over the last year to help 19 companies research, develop and demonstrate innovative technologies to increase energy efficiency in manufacturing. These projects include $3.2 million awarded to 15 R&D projects in 2009 through NYSERDA’s Industrial Process and Product Innovation R&D funding program.

Francis J. Murray, Jr., NYSERDA President and CEO said, “By developing and demonstrating innovative technologies for manufacturing, these companies promise new industrial growth and new manufacturing jobs for New York State. NYSERDA is proud to support R&D in New York State that will help realize Governor David Paterson’s vision for a clean tech economy that uses cutting edge technologies to save energy, create jobs, and improve our environment.”

This funding will support three feasibility studies that will accelerate the commercialization of innovative manufacturing processes, and one demonstration project that will significantly reduce heat used in manufacturing. The projects selected for funding are applicable to a variety of industrial processes including oil refining, printing, and metal coating and plating, and the manufacture of various commodities including fertilizer, asphalt, chemicals, pulp and paper, and others. The four projects announced today for funding are:

• Excelerant Ceramics (Alfred), has developed a product that will reduce the energy and costs of producing hydrogen gas for industrial processes such as fuel cell production, oil refining, ammonia production and others. NYSERDA funding will allow the company to quantify energy and cost savings from using this new product and develop a process to significantly reduce energy used to produce it. Excelerant will work with Alfred University and Ceralink, Troy on this project. $60,325
• United Environment and Energy, LLC (Horseheads), will receive NYSERDA funding to develop a technology to produce asphalt using renewable and recycled waste products instead of heavy petroleum and gravel to achieve significant reductions in energy, CO2 emissions and raw materials costs. $74,990
• August Ninth Analyses, Inc. (Scarsdale), will receive NYSERDA funding to conduct a feasibility study for “Thinktroller,” a software and hardware system that mimics the sensory capabilities of the body’s nervous system. The system, designed to be used by a broad range of mixing, milling and blending applications of chemicals, food, plastics, metals, and other products, will optimize processes, reduce load, and shift the process so that it occurs during off–peak electric demand periods. $75,000
• Inland Paper Products Corp. (Brooklyn), a manufacturer of flexible packaging films for the food related industry, will use NYSERDA funds to purchase and install a hybrid ultra–violet/electron–beam (UV/EB) system for drying printed paper products as they exit a printing press. This process is expected to save 75–90% of thermal operation costs. NYSERDA recently launched an industrial program to fund research, development and demonstration of UV/EB technologies that provide energy, environmental and economic benefits for New York State industry. $400,000

The 15 proposals selected for funding in the first–round of PON 1276 will receive $3.2 Million in funding for research, development and demonstration of a wide variety of industrial process and product innovations that hold technology transfer potential to benefit other industries as well. These include more energy–efficient boilers and blowers, plastics and ceramics development, use of lasers and radio waves for coating, curing, and lamination, molding and casting production, and waste heat recovery in large food processing plants.

Companies funded in the first round of awards include:

• Automated Dynamics (Schenectady), $396,146
• Aymont Technology, Inc., (Ballston Spa), $75,000
• Ceralink, Inc. (Troy, Rochester, Highland), $399,154
• CSL Materials LLC, (Alfred), $49,635
• CVD Equipment Corp. (Ronkonkoma), $400,000
• Evident Technology, Inc. (Troy), $75,000
• Frito–Lay, Inc. (Binghamton), $400,000
• The Fulton Companies (Pulaski), $75,000
• IBA Industrial, Inc. (Edgewood), $119,262
• Mohawk Innovative Technology, Inc. (Albany), $74,491
• MPI, Inc, Poughkeepsie, (Troy), $75,000
• Novomer (Ithaca), $400,000
• Sono–Tek Corporation (Milton, Troy), $74,491
• Strathmore Products, Inc. (Syracuse), $73690
• Transparent Materials (Rochester), $221,533

NYSERDA provides energy–related R&D, technical, and financial assistance to promote energy efficiency, economic development, safe and economical energy production, and technology initiatives in New York State.

Contact:

Jeffrey Gordon, NYSERDA
518–862–1090 ext. 3544
jrg@nyserda.ny.gov