Maine businesses get $1.6 million in technology investments

GARDINER – The Maine Technology Institute has issued five development awards totaling $1.6 million for composite materials, biotechnology and environmental projects from Bangor to Brunswick.

The awards are being matched by about $3.6 million from other sources and are offered on a competitive basis to support early activities for product development, commercialization or business planning and development, according to MTI president Betsy Biemann.

Award amounts and winners are:

. $324,300 to Ascendant Energy in Owls Head for further developing of its SolFocusT solar concentrator that provides heat and power for large commercial buildings with flat roofs using proprietary photovoltaic-thermal modules.

. $134,600 to Access Wellness Diagnostic Technologies in Bangor, which has developed an Acoustic Response Locator that identifies soft tissue dysfunction and injury. The company will use MTI funds for prototype development, clinical studies and regulatory and market evaluation activities.

. $418,500 to Harbor Technologies Inc. in Brunswick to create a machine to manufacture composite pilings that incorporate Hardwire steel-reinforcements and develop a mechanism to join pilings. The company develops steel-reinforced composite pilings for marine applications.

. $500,000 to Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay to design, engineer and build a prototype 60-foot sailing yacht meeting American Bureau of Shipping standards using a new manufacturing process, the cold-molded composite infusion method. The method is a blend of two existing Hodgdon Yacht processes.

. $320,000 to Wrangler Corp. in Auburn, a leading producer of composite “PopUp” packaging systems used in the environmental market. The company will use MTI funds to increase its containers’ structural rigidity and puncture resistance while reducing packaging weight.

Development awards are given three times each year. The application deadline for the next round of awards is Oct. 4. More information is available at www.mainetechnology.org.

MTI was created by the Legislature in 1999 to encourage, promote, stimulate and support research and development activity leading to the commercialization of new products and services.