For Immediate Release
MTI makes $392,700 Cluster Initiative Program award to E2Tech
Brunswick, Maine – The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) has granted the Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech) a Cluster Initiative Program (CIP) award in the amount of $392,700. This award to support the Maine Cleantech Business & Economic Development Project is a follow-on to a project funded in 2012, which enabled E2Tech to define and analyze Maine’s Clean Technology cluster including its economic impact and the needs of the private sector. That project was the basis for the creation of a strategic plan for growing the Cleantech sector in Maine. While nationally the Cleantech sector has seen a decline in new business formations and new technologies, in Maine and globally the Cleantech sector continues to grow and yield new technology solutions to address several global energy and environmental issues.
This new award will enable E2Tech to further support and develop the Cleantech sector in Maine. Specifically, this project will enable E2Tech to build sustainable, competitive targeted private sector capacity in the industry. The targeted industries include energy efficiency, renewable energy, advanced materials, environmental services, and transportation and alternative fuels. Maine has seen strong growth in companies engaging development of technologies in many of these Cleantech industries which help grow the Maine economy.
“E2Tech has shown it is a strongly led and effectively managed organization that is having a positive impact on the Maine economy,” said MTI President Bob Martin. “E2Tech has helped define and build this sector of technology in Maine, and helped a number of Maine companies develop their products, business plans and operations, resulting in new jobs and long term growth opportunities for Maine.”
Jeff Marks, Executive Director of E2Tech expressed his appreciation to MTI and recognized MTI’s critical role in supporting the Cleantech sector in Maine. “We are very pleased that MTI has awarded E2Tech this award as it will allow us to more effectively promote the industry, accelerate its growth and help the companies engaged in developing these technologies compete,” he said. “MTI is an excellent resource for the State of Maine, and has shown its commitment to supporting key technology sectors and organizations that have the capability and opportunity to make a difference to the state’s economy.” The funds approved in this award will be used to support several businesses as they develop their technologies and bring them to market, and enable E2Tech to take on a more dominant role in the regional Cleantech industry. According to Marks, “The funding MTI has provided today and in the past has resulted in the creation of new jobs and new opportunities for Mainers, and contributes directly to the state’s prosperity.”
Founded in 2002, E2Tech has approximately 180 members in Maine including businesses, non-profit organizations, state agencies and educational institutions. E2Tech represents the interests of the Clean Technology sector in regional and national events and offers a series of programs to help Cleantech companies develop products and grow successful companies. According to Martha Bentley, CIP Manager for MTI, “the Cleantech sector continues to do well in Maine, creating innovative new technologies to solve critical environmental problems.” “Because this sector has such a strong global footprint and with the support of E2Tech we are building successful new businesses that provide good opportunities for Maine people,” she said.
The Maine Technology Institute is a non-profit, state-chartered organization whose mission is to promote innovation in Maine through the funding of new technologies, and connecting entrepreneurs and start-up companies with the resources they need to help them commercialize their products and grow. Visit www.mainetechnology.org for more information.
The Environmental & Energy Council of Maine (E2Tech) is a non-profit organization established to support the development of the Cleantech industry in Maine, to help companies and engage with the larger Cleantech community outside Maine to identify and develop opportunities for Maine Cleantech companies. For more information, visit www.e2tech.org. Read the E2Tech press release here.