Six R.I. businesses receive grants from Innovate RI fund

PROVIDENCE – Six Rhode Island businesses will receive $269,963 in grants from the state’s Innovate Rhode Island Small Business Fund (Innovate RI Fund), according to the R.I. Commerce Corporation and the R.I. Science and Technology Advisory Council.
The state grants will leverage more than $1 million in federal funds.
This is the second year grants have been available through the Innovate RI Fund. The General Assembly created the fund in 2013 to help foster job creation, facilitate small business development and enhance the workforce pipeline.
The grants announced on Wednesday are the result of the first call for applications for fiscal 2015. Approximately $90,000 is still available to fund three additional grants by June 30. Applications are sought on a quarterly basis. The next call for applications will be posted in January 2015 for companies that received Phase I awards in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Grant recipients in this award round employ a total of 59 workers in scientific, managerial, technical and administrative positions.
The state grant funds are provided to insure companies are successful in completing the federally funded work and submitting a Phase II grant proposal with the goal of receiving additional funding to further advance the technology being developed.
State matching grants are equal to 30 percent of the federal award up to a maximum of $45,000. The grants are disbursed in two phases, with 75 percent of the grant disbursed upon successful application to the program and the remaining 25 percent disbursed upon submission of a Phase II proposal.
The following companies received Innovate RI Fund awards:

  • Applied Radar Inc., North Kingstown. Award amount: $44,999. This project will develop a low-profile, lightweight, high bandwidth, multi-band antennae system that can be used for advanced helicopter designs.
  • BTech Acoustics LLC, Barrington. Award amount: $44,998. This project will develop velocity sensors for use on Sonar arrays that can be installed on the external hull on submarines.
  • Calista Therapeutics, Lincoln. Award amount: $45,000. This project will provide pre-clinical testing of a new peptide drug to treat Cystic Fibrosis.
  • ProThera Biologics, East Providence. Award amount: $45,000. This project will obtain proof of concept for how certain proteins can be used to reduce the effects of newborn brain injuries.
  • Navatek CFD Technologies LLC, South Kingstown. Award amount: $44,992. This project will develop a galley-scullery water conservation system that will reduce wastewater storage needs and allow combat ships to operate for longer times in coastal waters.
  • Voltserver, East Greenwich. Award amount: $44,973. This project will speed the adoption of solid state lighting in commercial buildings by using a safe and efficient method for distributing high voltage power and high bandwidth communications.

“The Innovate Rhode Island Fund enables us to promote and encourage cutting-edge research, support our small businesses and attract more federal research dollars to Rhode Island,” Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee said in a statement.
Through the Innovate RI Fund, eligible Rhode Island small businesses may apply for grants to defray the cost of applying for federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer awards, match SBIR/STTR Phase I awards and hire interns. Each company has received a competitive grant from the federal government to develop a technology that is of interest to a federal agency.
Last year, eight companies received $359,880 in state grants to leverage $1,424,592 in federal SBIR/STTR Phase I awards. Two of these companies, CREmedical and Vision Systems, have received SBIR/STTR Phase II awards totaling an additional $1,250,000 in federal funding.

Formed in September 2012 to support and grow small and medium-sized bioscience ventures in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Bioscience Leaders played a pivotal role in advocating for Innovate RI. Edward Bozzi, associate clinical professor at the University of Rhode Island’s Providence Campus, and Denice Spero, vice president at NsGene, have grown the RI BSL to 30 member organizations.

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