News

(From PR Newswire) Prapela, Inc., was recently awarded a grant through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint MedTech program and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), to support the development and evaluation of Prapela's pad to treat apnea in preterm newborns in collaboration with neonatologists at Tufts Medical Center and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The grant is expected to provide $3.5M over 3 years. MTI awarded funding to the Biddeford-based startup to help support its breakthrough medical device. Read more »

(From News Center Maine) Running Tide Technologies employs engineers, software developers, and scientists to nurture oysters in a high-tech hatchery. They are focused on developing ecosystem services, including floating kelp buoys designed to capture carbon. MTI provided the company with early-stage funding and SBIR support. Read more »

(From Mainebiz) Springtide Seaweed will receive $650,000 in federal funding to develop new cultivation systems for nori and dulse red seaweed, allowing these high-value crops to be farmed in the U.S. and globally. The funding was awarded through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. MTI's TAP Team worked with the Gouldsboro-based company to create a successful SBIR application. Read more »

(From Departures) Can seaweed save the planet? Atlantic Sea Farms is doing its part by fostering an underwater, regenerative crop that reduces the acidity of local waters and absorbs significant amounts of carbon. The company has a roster of 27 partner fishermen and anticipates growing 1.2 million pounds of kelp in 2022. The Saco-based company received SBIR support from the MTI TAP team. Read more »

(From Maine Venture Fund) MTI's SBIR Expert, Karen West, was recently interviewed for a Maine Venture Fund article. She shared valuable insights into the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs including benefits of the application process, how to strengthen an application, and much more. Read more »

(From Mainebiz) Commercial kelp grower, Atlantic Sea Farms, recently completed a funding round, secured additional business partners and board members. The company received early SBIR support from the MTI TAP team. Read more »

(From Mainebiz) Due to increasing product demand, Saco-based Atlantic Sea Farms will be moving to a larger industrial space in Biddeford. The company's CEO, Briana Warner, rebranded Ocean Approved, Inc. as Atlantic Sea Farms and was the first commercially viable business to introduce domestic, fresh seaweed products to the marketplace. (Ocean Approved, Inc. received early SBIR support from the MTI TAP team.) Read more »

(From Aquaculture North America) Located in Waldoboro, Maine Shellfish Developers is pioneering a non-coastal system to grow Eastern oysters year-round using recirculating aquaculture systems technology. The USDA supported exploration of this new frontier with two Small Business Innovation Research grants totaling $750,000. MTI was also an early backer. Read more »

(From Space.com) The world's first commercial booster powered by biofuel was launched from Maine. The Brunswick-based startup, bluShift Aerospace launched its first rocket prototype, called Stardust 1.0, despite freezing temperatures and two false starts. In addition to team members investing their own money into the project, the company received funding from MTI and NASA. Read more »

(From sbir.gov) Portland-based RockStep Solutions is one of the recipients of the 2020 Tibbetts Awards for exceptional successes achieved through SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. MTI helped them apply for SBIR funding, provided matching funding for their SBIR grants, and nominated the company for the prestigious award. Read more »