HRST

E21 LLC aims to provide Mid-Atlantic businesses with on-site power generation services, allowing companies to take advantage of renewable energy's predictable cost. E21 aims to provide a turn-key solution, with the customer able to acquire an on-site system with no capital costs.

Vortex Hydro Energy is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Havesting Hydrokinetic Energy Using Vortex Induced Vibration and Fish Biomimetics. Their project will transition an innovative 1-5 kW energy generating system from the University of Michigan (UM) Marine Renewable Energy Laboratory (MRELab) towards the commercial market place. The system is based on a system of cylinders that are made to oscillate by water currents at velocities as low as 1-2 knots (water turbines require 5-7 knots). It is through this mechanism that the converter harvests the hydrokinetic energy. This project, if successful, will yield a new means of harvesting energy from low velocity currents. Additionally, this system is believed to have fewer impacts on aquatic wildlife than turbine based systems.

Garbrook Knowledge Resources is a company that received a SBIR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Targeted Information Products Built from a Curated Knowledge Base. Their project addresses the problem of integrating advanced computational and curation techniques. Curated knowledge resources are important in fields like genomics, but have not yet made a significant impact in other fields like renewable energy. The purpose of a curated knowledge product is to provide comprehensive, non-redundant, concise, and unbiased information in a field where information is otherwise scattered and hard for users to gather objectively. Garbrook has built an encyclopedic knowledge base, the Advanced Biofuels Resource, to organize scientific, commercial, and policy-related information for the Biofuels community. This proposal will develop automated methods to produce multiple targeted information products from such a resource. For many users of technical, commercial, and policy information, the information landscape is cluttered and confusing. The Internet now contains a wide variety of newsletters, trade association sites, blogs, and other media reports, in addition to scholarly publications, consulting reports, white papers from policy organizations, and government sites. The solution to this problem is not more sites, but a new standard for curated knowledge resources to reduce the clutter. Garbrook proposes to build technology to automatically segment curated matter to establish a comprehensive resource into targeted knowledge products suitable for various sectors of the community. Combining its computational technology and its ability to train agent curators, Garbrook is positioned to build additional knowledge products in the future for topics related to energy and the environment.

Copernican Energy is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: High Temperature Solar Thermal Biomass Gasification and Co-reduction of Iron Oxide to Produce Hydrogen. Their project applies renewable solar thermal energy as a novel way to provide the necessary energy for biomass gasification and will develop the science required to engineer an efficient solar biomass-to-hydrogen conversion facility. Central to this innovation is the use of a reduced oxide intermediate to chemically store solar energy in a solid, allowing continuous hydrogen generation when the sun is not shining. The operating conditions necessary to achieve economically viable conversion of biomass resources to hydrogen will be determined through in-depth study "on-sun" and in the laboratory of heat transfer, reaction rates, and rate controls. The proposed project provides a bridge between solar energy and biomass to surmount many of the challenges associated with conventional biomass processing technologies. The high temperatures available from solar thermal systems allow for high conversion and selectivity, maximizing utility of the valuable biomass resource and extending its ability to replace conventional fossil fuels. Use of a reduced metal oxide stretches the applicability of solar energy beyond the daylight hours. Combined use of solar energy with biomass has a larger potential than either renewable resource alone to provide renewable fuels for the future. Copernican Energy is a company that received a STTR Phase I grant for a project entitled: Rapid Solar Thermal Gasification and Pyrolysis of Cellulose and Lignin for Renewable Fuel Production. Their research uses solar thermal energy as a novel way to provide the necessary energy for renewable biomass conversion to energy or useful products, and develops the science required to engineer an efficient and commercial solar biomass conversion facility. Gasification and pyrolysis of representative biomass resources grown near solar regions (corn stover and sorghum) will be converted via thermogravimetry, controlled aerosol reaction, and on-sun demonstration of feasibility of this approach. Thermogravimetric experiments will determine chemical kinetics and necessary conditions for high selectivity to syngas and tar mitigation. Economic simulations will determine the main cost drivers for product price and highlight the syngas products with highest near-term scale-up potential. The broader impacts of the application of solar thermal energy to thermochemical conversion of biomass will provide a bridge between these sources of renewable energy that could surmount many of the challenges associated with conventional biomass processing technologies. Combined use of solar energy with biomass has a larger potential than either renewable resource alone and will help alleviate the nation's dependence on foreign petroleum, generate economic growth, create fuels that are environmentally sustainable, and have an impact on the overall human impact of energy use.

Bioprocessing Innovative Company operates as a company that produces and engineers bio-energy solutions. The company is based in Dublin, Ohio.

ProteoGenesis, LLC is a Johnson City, TN based company that has received a grant(s) from the Department of Energy's SBIR/STTR program. The abstract(s) for these grant award(s) are provided as well since they provide insights into ProteoGenesis, LLC's business and areas of expertise. The United States is in need of a renewable and clean energy supply. This project will develop novel enzymes that could make the process of converting switchgrass into ethanol a commercially viable source of renewable energy and create a new energy sector and agricultural job base in America.