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RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Commerce’s Office of Science and Technology is now accepting applications for the second round of N.C. Green Business Fund grants. The grants are designed to develop and commercialize promising technologies, products and services in the areas of biofuels, green building, clean technologies and renewable energy.

 Applications may come from small and mid-size businesses, nonprofit organizations, state agencies and local governments. Pre-proposals are required and are due Jan. 9. The pre-proposals will be evaluated and a number selected to submit full proposals in March. Detailed information on applying for grants, requests for grant proposals, eligibility criteria and other guidelines are available on the Office of Science and Technology’s Web site,  http://www.ncscitech.com/gbf/.

Last year’s grant program received 85 applications from 33 counties across the state. Thirteen companies received grants ranging from $18,000 to $100,000. The total amount available this year is $950,000. A list of 2008 recipients appears at the end of this release.

The Green Business Fund, created by the General Assembly in 2007, is designed to increase economic activity through environmentally friendly technologies and practices that improve performance, productivity or efficiency while reducing costs, energy consumption, waste or pollution. The fund awards grants for activities that encourage the expansion of small to medium-size businesses with 100 or fewer employees and innovative commercial technologies, products and services.

By statute, the grants focus on three priority areas:

·        Development and promotion of the biofuels industry;

·        Development and promotion of the green building industry; and/or

·        Attracting and leveraging private sector investment and entrepreneurial growth in environmentally conscious clean technologies and renewable energy products and businesses.

2008 Recipients, N.C. Green Business Fund Grants

·         Blue Ridge Biofuels of Asheville has been awarded $77,737 to develop and commercialize an innovative purification method to convert low-quality fatty acids into biofuels.

·         Organofuels of Asheville has been awarded $81,944 to manufacture an algae-based fuel for gasoline engines.

·         Ecocurrent of Raleigh will receive $100,000 for a novel technological process that converts hog manure to electric power in an economically viable manner, while producing valuable byproducts such as fertilizer and building materials.

·         Evans Environmental of Wilson will receive $75,000 to remove residual water in the final stage of biodiesel production. This innovative process will facilitate increased production to commercial-grade biodiesel by 300%.

·         Alganomics of Southport has been awarded $60,000 to produce reliable, environmentally responsible, natural and renewable bioproducts from algal sources. The primary bioproduct is extracted oil/fatty acids for use as a biodiesel fuel feedstock.

·         Kyma Technologies of Raleigh has been awarded $60,000 to work with researchers at North Carolina State University to develop a very efficient, lower-cost electric switch to be used in a broad range of applications including hybrid and all electric vehicles, legacy and renewable electric grids and power supplies in general.

·         3F LLC of Raleigh has been awarded $100,000 to develop a new natural fiber-reinforced concrete formula. The resulting concrete will be lighter weight, yet stronger.

·         Piedmont Biofuels of Pittsboro will receive $75,000 to develop a cavitation reactor to produce biodiesel fuel. The process uses less energy than traditional methods, has a much smaller physical footprint and causes a more complete reaction with higher fuel yields.

·         Nextreme Thermal Solutions of Durham will receive $57,319 to manufacture a novel thermoelectric power generator capable of converting waste heat into usable electrical power.

·         Rain Water Solutions of Raleigh will receive $18,000 to develop a new rain barrel manufacturing process that will allow mass production to meet increasing demand and provide an inexpensive, appealing option to consumers desiring to collect rainwater.

·         Nanotech Labs of Yadkinville has been awarded $70,000 to develop and commercialize an energy storage device that has extremely high volume capacity but small overall dimensions.

·         Phazetek of Greensboro has been awarded $75,000 to develop a new class of thermal efficient building material for transfer and storage building wallboards.

·         Sencera of Charlotte has been awarded $100,000 to open a photovoltaic solar cell production facility in North Carolina based on a new thin-film manufacturing technology.

“Akron’s methane-powered sewage plant is the only system of its kind in the United States. But other cities, including Solon and Canton, now are looking to follow Akron’s lead.

Use of this biological process to create energy from waste should gain momentum within the next five to 10 years, predicted Jim Currie of Ohio State University. That’s because conventional ways of disposing of waste are becoming too expensive and our appetite for new fuel sources is increasing, said Currie, program director of BioHio at OSU’s Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster.

“The hurdle is showing people how well the system works,” Currie said.”

Click here for the complete article from the Plain Dealer, and here for an animated video of the process.

www.gogreenplus.org

Chris Carmody

Director, Sustainable Business Initiative

Gary Hirschberg - Ce-Yo, Stonyfield Farms

 ISD Fall Sustainable Small Business Fellow Richard Johanson has reviewed Gary Hirschberg’s “Stirring it Up: How to Make Money and Save the World”. To download a copy of his review and the key lessons from the book, click here.

The Center for Sustainable Enterprise is pleased to co-sponsor speaker Gary Hirshberg on November 11^th.

Speaker: Gary Hirshberg, Ce-Yo Stonyfield Farm

“Stirring it Up: How to Make Money and Save the World”

November 11, 2008 7:30 pm

Location: Gerrard Hall, UNC Chapel Hill http://www.dps.unc.edu/maps/visitor/Visitor.pdf

Free and open to the public. General admission seating. Book signing following lecture.

Award winning social entrepreneur Gary Hirshberg visits Chapel Hill this fall to propose ways companies can help save the planet while achieving greater profits and consumers can use the power of conscious consumption to encourage green corporate behavior. Honored for corporate and environmental leadership, Hirshberg draws on his own experience building the world’s leading organic yogurt business while incorporating environmental principles and practices.

Gary Hirshberg’s lecture is presented as part of the 2008-2009 Hillard Gold ’39 Lecture series and is sponsored by the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative and the Center for Sustainable Enterprise.

www.gogreenplus.org

News 14 Carolina on Green Plus

Please go to www.gogreenplus.org to learn more about Green Plus, the program to help small business with practical, affordable sustainability expertise. This site was our blog during the beta testing process for the program.

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The Institute for Sustainable Development launched Green Plus, our online suite to provide affordable, accessible triple bottom line sustainability expertise to small businesses on February 16. Our new web home is www.gogreenplus.org.

Click here to see a story by News 14 Carolina on the program: “The Green Plus initiative looks to help small- to medium-sized businesses like Capstrat look for more ways to go green and save money. Green Plus is an online-based pilot program, and Capstrat, along with 80 other Triangle businesses, are testing it out.”

NPR covers the economic challenges to green innovation.

Steve Schmid, CEO of Smith Dairy in Orrville, Ohio

 (From The Plain Dealer, Oct. 19, 2008 – Orrville, Ohio) “… launching a major environmental initiative in  these times actually makes a lot of practical business sense, Schmid believes. “We’re saving money by  paring down on our delivery routes and having our trucks spend less time parked but running their  engines, and minimizing waste in our manufacturing plants. All that helps the bottom line.”

One source of his family and company values is a religious belief that demands what he calls “good stewardship of the earth.” 

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