SyracuseCoE—New York State’s Center of Excellence for Environmental and Energy Systems—today announced that three Central New York companies have received competitive awards totaling $30,000 from the Center’s Innovation Fund. The award-winning companies and their projects are:

  • LC Drives of Potsdam, for a project to develop a key manufacturing process for a newly designed wind turbine generator. This wind turbine generator will help bring down the cost of energy from wind power.
  • Solstice Power, of Syracuse, for to support the development of The Hybrid System, a renewable, low cost, on-site, combined heat and power solar technology, which will generate three times the electrical energy of traditional fixed, mounted flat-panel solar systems.
  • NuClimate Air Quality Systems, of East Syracuse, to support independent testing and final product revisions for new a Vertical Stack Induction/Fan Coil Unit. This unit will be a direct replacement for current Vertical Stack Fan Coil Units in the light commercial and commercial market place and will consume no more than 25% of the energy of current products.

The SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund is supported by funding from SyracuseCoE’s Partner Program; it is designed to support Partners’ efforts to bridge barriers to the commercialization of potentially transformative innovations in energy and environmental systems. Projects must be aligned with commercialization of innovative products/technologies and focused on one or more of SyracuseCoE’s three core areas: Indoor Environmental Quality and Building Energy Efficiency; Clean & Renewable Energy; and Water Resources.

To date, the Innovation Fund has provided $164,000 to nine yracuseCoE Partner firms for projects to develop innovative products and services and promote their commercialization.

“The Innovation Fund Awards are a shining example of the creativity and strength of Central New York’s regional cluster of environmental and energy firms,” said Ed Bogucz, SyracuseCoE executive director. “The awards, competitively awarded based on technical merit and commercialization potential, have tremendous potential to strengthen each company and the region.”

“SyracuseCoE Partners benefit from a vibrant innovation ecosystem that supports the acceleration of research and technology development in energy and environmental systems,” said Patrick Jackson, Chair of the SyracuseCoE Industry Partners Council. “The Innovation Fund is a key element of the support available to researchers and companies throughout Central New York, and we look forward to the outcomes associated with these excellent projects.”

The next round of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program Innovation Fund will open in August of 2015. Eligibility for awards is extended to 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.

For more information about the SyracuseCoE Partner Program, visit https://centerofexcellence.syracuse.edu/who-we-are/partners