Tri-Cities Tech Business Update

August 2010 Issue

Tech News and Notes

DOE announces $30M in funding to commercialize clean energy technologies

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that $30 million in funding from the Recovery Act and FY 2010 budget appropriations will be made available to qualified small businesses to support the commercialization of promising new clean energy technologies. The funding announcement builds on the Department's existing efforts under the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) to develop near-term clean energy technologies and support American small businesses that will play an important role in building the clean energy economy of the future. Only current Phase 2 winners are eligible. More information.

Richland breaks ground on solar project

Richland's electric utility is working to add solar power to its grid in order to fulfill a requirement of a clean energy initiative passed by WA state voters in 2006. Electric utilities with 25,000 or more customers are required to use "eligible renewable resources" to meet a portion of its load -- 3 percent by 2012, 9 percent by 2016 and 20 percent by 2020. Twelve to 15 solar power generators, made by Infinia, a Kennewick-based energy technology company, will be connected to the city's power grid. Two of the dishes will be purchased and owned by the Tri-Cities Research District. The generators use concentrated sunlight with Infinia's free-piston Stirling engine to generate electricity. More information.

Local organizations win Vivid Learning Systems' & Imageworks' top prizes

More than 150 people representing businesses and non-profit organizations from around the Columbia Basin turned out for the 3rd Annual Refresh event, held at Vivid Learning Systems in Pasco. The Prosser Economic Development Association was the recipient of the 2010 Refresh Website award-$5,000 website design service-and the Down Syndrome Association of the Mid-Columbia the 2010 Refresh Training award. More information.

Dade Moller & Associates' VP earns national recognition

Mitzi Miller, vice president of Dade Moller & Associate's Environmental Programs, received the 2010 Assessor Choice Award from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation. This award recognizes Miller's skills and contributions as an assessor. In 1993, Miller co-founded the Richland-based Environmental Quality Management, Inc. As president, she managed investigation reports for groundwater units at the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site. In November 2009, Miller sold her company to Dade Moeller, thereby expanding the firm's expertise in the areas of environmental remediation, regulatory support, and quality systems support.

PNNL EDO on Facebook

The Economic Development Office at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is now on Facebook. The EDO page provides frequent updates and information about economic development activities and opportunities to help businesses start, grow, or revitalize. The Office helps businesses connect with technology experts, facilities, and other resources available at the Laboratory, many at no cost. Link to EDO Facebook page.

Tech Opportunities and Resources

Call to entrepreneurs

The ZINO Society will present the 5th annual ZINO Zillionaire Investment Forum (ZZIF) on September 15, 2010 at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle. At the event, attendees can meet, learn, and connect with 200+ angel investors, business professionals, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and community leaders via company presentations, exhibition space, networking, and expert panels. Register online.

Life Sciences Discovery Fund grant competition

The Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) is now accepting pre-proposals in a second round of the 2010 Commercialization Grant Competition. LSDF intends to award up to $750,000 in this second round of competition. Individual awards will be up to $150,000 in total costs for up to one year. The deadline for pre-proposal submission is August 18, 2010. More information.

Resources online

The column "Program exchanges green backs for green cards," was published in the Tri-City Herald on July 4. The article discusses the Employment Based Visa Program; which, created by Congress, grants permanent resident alien status to immigrants wanting to enter the U.S. who invest in a commercial enterprise that creates qualifying jobs. Read the article.

Tech Dates and Deadlines

Tri-Cities Research District (TCRD) Speaker Series September event

September 22. PNNL, Mission Support Alliance, LLC, and Washington State University Tri-Cities are teaming to host the next event in the Speaker Series. The speaker, Dave Lucero from EaglePicher Technologies, will discuss energy storage and why it's important to the Tri-Cities Research District. The event will be held on Wednesday, September 22 from 4:010 pm - 5:00 pm at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory Auditorium (located on the PNNL Campus), 3335 Q Avenue, Richland.

Learn the secrets of NIH grant applications

August 3 - Seattle; August 4 - Spokane. The Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association presents two workshops focused on helping small businesses better understand the National Institutes of Health (NIH) small business grant application process, as well as bridging the gap between discovery and commercialization. The workshops touch on types of NIH funding, success rates for NIH applications, and how to write for NIH review criteria. Register online.

8TH annual Gesa Smartmap Expo

September 29-30. The Smartmap Expo is the state's premier manufacturing networking event that brings together many of the 3,500 manufacturing companies in eastern Washington for a two-day conference. The Expo provides a venue to view the latest technologies, products, and services; participate in educational seminars; take advantage of one-on-one meetings with industry professionals, and locate suppliers and service provides. Register online.

IEEE Smart Grid Series: Why does it matter?

August 2, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm. IEEE Richland Section and IEEE Power and Energy Society Richland Chapter are jointly hosting the second in a series of events focused on the "smart grid." At this event, learn the new functionalities of a "smart grid" and how it helps to make our energy systems sustainable. The event will be held at the Washington State University Tri-Cities campus, CIC Building Room 216. Register by email.

Nominations open for Richland's Green Recognition Program

Applications are being accepted for the City of Richland's 2010 Green Recognition Program under categories such as Overall Effort, Green Project/Program, Process Change or Event. The annual awards honor Richland businesses, organizations, groups, schools or individuals who make a notable effort to improve the environment through recycling, creative ways of reusing or reducing water, solid, and/or chemical waste, conserving energy and electricity, or reducing air pollution effluents. Apply online.

Northwest Entrepreneur Network First Look Forum; call for applications

Application deadline August 18. The Northwest Entrepreneur Network (NWEN) is the region's home for innovative businesses in every growth sector in our economy, from web 2.0 to medical technology, clean tech to consumer products. The NWEN's First Look Forum provides applicants access to professional coaches, advisors, investors, and more. The Forum's goal is to assist businesses in reaching the next level of success. Apply online.

Strategic investment conference

October 13-15. The National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) annual conference, to be held in Baltimore, MD, exchanges strategies and tools for building and managing strategic investment programs and institutions. Newly formed organizations receive the benefit of different viewpoints, while established organizations track new approaches and resources. Participants meet with professionals from outside their local networks and communities, making one-on-one contact with specialized practitioners and discussing new methods of facilitating capital formation. Register online.

WBBA's Governors Life Sciences Summit

October 22. The Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA) is combining the Governor's Summit and its annual meeting for this year's Life Sciences Summit. More than 800 leaders of Washington's life sciences community are expected to attend the event to be held in Bellevue, WA. This program will celebrate successes, as well as address current challenges and coming opportunities in life sciences locally, nationally, and globally. Register online.

PNNL This Month

PNNL battery research could reduce cell phone charging time

New battery materials developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Vorbeck Materials Corporation, could enable devices powered by electricity to recharge in minutes rather than hours. The joint research has demonstrated that small quantities of graphene - an ultra-thin sheet of carbon atoms - can dramatically improve the power and cycling stability of lithium-ion batteries, while maintaining high energy storage capacity. Read the complete release.

Got News?

We invite your contributions! We will consider items that fit the mission of this publication, including your tech-related news, awards, and notices of upcoming events. Please send text and photos to Andrea McMakin or call (509) 372-6013.

Tri-Cities Tech Business Update is published by the Economic Development Office at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Each month, we send you an e-mail message, giving you the link of news, tips, awards, upcoming events, and other information about local technology-based businesses and organizations that support them. With business and community partners, our goal is to build and diversify the Tri-Cities economy—adding skilled jobs in primary-sector industries that bring in outside dollars. Currently, more than 1,100 tech-related businesses, investors, and economic development stakeholders subscribe to the newsletter, mostly in the Mid-Columbia area and the rest of the Pacific Northwest. This newsletter (RL-P00-009) supports DOE-Richland's vision for the future of the Hanford Site and surrounding area through the creation of research opportunities, new industries, and new business clusters