MTI recently awarded TechStart Grants to five Maine entrepreneurs in Bangor, Cape Elizabeth, Gardiner, Orono and Portland. The amount granted was $19,975 which the awardees matched with a total of $24,245. The awards were made in three of the seven targeted technology areas: Environmental Technology, Information Technology and Precision Manufacturing Technology.
MTI’s TechStart Grants fund entrepreneurs and companies across Maine who are developing new technology products to bring to market and need a boost to get their project off the ground. TechStart Grants are competitively awarded each month in amounts up to $5,000 per project and must be matched at least 1:1 by the entrepreneur. Applications to the TechStart program can be made on-line at www.mainetechnology.org. The next TechStart deadlines are May 2 and June 5 by 5pm with workshops around the state in May.
Tech Start Grant awardees and projects, by industry sector, were awarded in this round to:
Environmental Technology
Jay Dresser, Sole Proprietor, in Bangor
Refillable glass beverage containers are reused fifteen to twenty-fives times after being processed by a bottle washing and automated inspection system. Reused bottles reduce energy costs per bottle by over ninety-three percent. Many countries have refillable bottle programs however the United States is not one of them. MTI grant funds will be used to conclude a six-year study conducted by Jay Dresser, a Maine entrepreneur, and to develop a business plan for the Maine Refillable Bottle Program
suitable for funding submittal in the summer of 2012 that is tailored to the unique needs of Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts’ breweries and redemption center infrastructure. Included will be a technical analysis of advanced bottle washing and visual inspection technologies currently in use at other bottle washing facilities, such as United Bottles, located in Laval, Quebec, the closest freestanding bottle washing plant to Maine.
Award: $5,000 Match: $5,000
SeaChange Group LLC in Cape Elizabeth
SeaChange Group LLC will use this TechStart award to complete international patent filings for its Eco-Hybrid™ low-emissions fuel technology as well as to trademark BunkerGreen™, its first product offering based on the technology. Pollutants from the combustion of fossil fuels are being increasingly regulated both domestically and internationally. SCG is developing a family of fuels which allow owners to meet regulatory standards while also lowering operational costs. This represents a significant advantage over current compliance options. SeaChange Group LLC, a Maine company, seeks to develop classes of low-emission fuels based on Eco-Hybrid™ Technology for marine, rail, power generation and off-road applications.
Award: $4,975 Match: $5,145
Smart-Monergy Inc. in Portland
Smart-Monergy’s infrastructure combines the latest communication protocols for Home Area Networks (HAN) with Cloud Computing concepts to deliver residential and commercial services to help individuals and companies optimize their energy consumption, effectively offering a low cost, remote, and real-time method of going green. Crescendo Market Research will be hired to conduct market research, determine overall market size and feasibility, and optimal market segments to focus primary research and development for their new Remote Temperature Zone Control. The outcome of this research will determine optimal market segments and related distribution channels. An additional outcome will be the submission of a Seed Grant application for related R&D.
Award: $2,000 Match: $5,600
Information Technology
Peter Snell & Associates – Gardiner
MTI funding will be used to support the preparation of a Development Loan application to MTI for Mind Frame 4’s patent-pending linguistics analysis technology. This technology offers an automated and practical method that brings together the disciplines of linguistic analysis, computer science, and psychology.
Award: $5,000 Match: $5,500
Precision Manufacturing Technology
O’Brien Medical LLC in Orono
NeuroCheck, a novel vibratory sensation assessment device, has been successfully prototyped and clinically tested. Market research on its commercial potential will be performed as the next stage of O’Brien Medical’s plan to bring this product to market. This research will involve in-depth interviews with thirty potential customers performed by a third party consulting firm. Insights gained by these interviews will guide customer and product development efforts aimed at commercialization of NeuroCheck.
Award: $3,000 Match: $3,000
About MTI TechStart Grants:
MTI TechStart Grants are awarded each month for up to $5,000 per project. TechStart Grants may be used to support specific activities such as business plan development, intellectual property filings, market analysis, or preparation of activities related to the solicitation of private investment or submission of Federal Small Business Innovation Research or Technology Transfer Phase I grants in the development of innovative technologies. TechStart Grant projects must have clearly defined deliverable outcomes and endpoints for the specifically funded scope of work not to exceed six months in duration. Each grant requires a 1:1 match. The next TechStart Grant application deadlines are May 2 and June 5.
Workshops with information about TechStart Grant and other MTI funding are being offered this spring in the following locations. All are welcome. There is no cost. Workshops include information on Techstart and Seed Grants, Development Loans, Business Accelerator Grants and SBIR grant applications. To register for a workshop, please contact Linda Adams, Program Assistant at [email protected] or 207-588-1018.
May 23
Wells 9:30-11:30am, York County Community College
Machias 10am-Noon, University of Maine Machias
May 24
Portland 9:30-11:30am, Abromson Center, USM
Lewiston 1-3pm, Lewiston-Auburn College, USM
MTI is a publicly financed, private nonprofit organization created by the Legislature to stimulate research and development activity leading to the commercialization of new products, processes and services in the state’s seven technology-intensive sectors. Programs are designed to enhance the competitive position of those sectors and increase the likelihood that one or more of the sectors will support clusters of industrial activity and create quality jobs across Maine. More about MTI at: www.mainetechnology.org.
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