Wisconsin has awarded grant funding to six high-tech businesses statewide, including one in Milwaukee.
Glendale-based Imagen Energy has received up to $75,000 to commercialize its innovations. The company creates advanced technology used to make energy storage systems more efficient. Its 150 kW energy storage system with integrated battery string inverter can reduce the system cost by 60 percent and reduce the size of the system by 10 times.
The other companies receiving up to $75,000 grants are: Madison-based GoDx Inc., Fitchburg based Stem Pharm, Marshfield-based Microscopy Innovations LLC, Platteville-based Photonic Cleaning Technologies, and Madison-based Proteovista LLC.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s Center for Technology Commercialization launched the SBIR Advance matching grant program in 2014, and have now awarded $4.15 million to 56 Wisconsin companies. The funds go to businesses already participating in the federal Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer programs.
Advance funding is to be used for market research, customer validation, intellectual property work and other commercialization efforts, which are not covered by the SBIR/STTR program funding. Participants also receive assistance from the Center for Technology Commercialization, such as lean startup training, business plan analysis and consulting.
“We recognized that a small company is much more than just the technology and that they need to validate their key business assumptions.” said Todd Strother, program manager. “The SBIR Advance grant provides them with resources to do these activities so that the company can build and commercialize a product that customers actually want.”
WEDC and the UW System offer SBIR Advance as part of their Start-Seed-Scale project, which aims to clear the path to seed funding and commercialization for high-tech business startups in the state. Another program of the S3 is the Ideadvance Seed Fund.
“Companies selected for SBIR Advance receive benefits well beyond the financial award,” said Aaron Hagar, vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation at WEDC. “The expertise provided by CTC staff and connections to other resources work in concert with the financing to guide and accelerate these companies through the next stages of their development.”
