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The University of Utah will share a $5.3 million federal grant for shepherding clean-energy technologies into the marketplace. The U.'s Technology Commercialization Office expects to use the money to connect solar, wind and geothermal innovations with consumers, as well as develop best practices for transferring technologies to the private sector.
"Accelerating linkages between university research, investors and the business world is essential to moving these great ideas to the marketplace," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a press statement. "The innovative clean-energy startup companies supported by these ecosystems will advance American competitiveness and will help create the jobs of the future."
The U. shares the competitive grant with the Clean Energy Trust in Chicago; the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems in Massachusetts; the University of California, San Diego; and the University of Central Florida.
"We were the only applicant that indicated we wanted to export what we're doing to other institutions," said Jack Hamilton, director of the U.'s Energy Innovation Commercialization Center, which will administer the grant. "Our job is to identify the winners, the technologies with real market potential and bring together stakeholders early in the development process. That keeps you from going down the wrong road."
A leader in technology commercialization, the U. spins off more companies than almost any other university, often trading the No. 1 spot with Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Last fiscal year, U. commercialization efforts led to the formation of 19 companies, including one that stores seasonal energy underground in the form of ice for a source of heating and cooling and another that employs a new class of materials in developing efficient solar cells.
"We have already become well known for our expertise in renewable energy technologies, and now we will have much greater resources to ensure that these technologies will be used to reduce our carbon footprint and improve our quality of life," said Jack Brittain, the U.'s vice president for Technology Venture Development.