Lt. Governor Perdue Announces First-Ever Green Business Fund Grants

Durham, NC - Lt. Governor Bev Perdue today announced that 13 North Carolina companies will receive up to $100,000 each from the new North Carolina Green Business Fund. These are the first grants awarded from the fund, which is designed to help small businesses with fewer than 100 employees develop and market promising green and alternative energy technologies.

"We have all the right assets to be a leader in going green in North Carolina - great agricultural diversity, a booming biotech sector, and world-class entrepreneurs and researchers," said Lt. Governor Bev Perdue. "This fund will jump start efforts to build a green economy that's good for business and the environment."

Perdue proposed the legislation for the Green Business Fund, which the General Assembly approved last year and allocated $1 million for the first round of grants. A total of 85 small businesses filed applications seeking nearly $7 million in funds. The N.C. Department of Commerce's Board of Science and Technology, which administers the program, asked an advisory committee composed of scientists, engineers, and qualified experts from across the state to review and rank the applications. The applications were so strong and competitive that it took four rounds of reviews before the winners were selected.

- Grant Recipients:

. 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.

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