PROVIDENCE – R.I. Commerce Corp. this month is expected to consider incentives for the build-out of lab and other facilities for the 401 Tech Bridge, at a leased site in Portsmouth.
The 401 Tech Bridge is a nonprofit and a collaboration of Polaris MEP, the University of Rhode Island and several industry organizations, including the Composites Alliance of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Textiles Innovation Network.
It has signed a 14-year lease for about 16,000 square feet of the former Hodges Badge Co. Inc. manufacturing building in Portsmouth. The site will be converted to an advanced materials and technology center, according to Christian Cowan, the Tech Bridge director.
Tech Bridge plans to refit that empty space with 3D printers, specialty equipment and a lab. An initial tenant will be Graphene Composites USA, the American division of a United Kingdom-based tech company.
The former Hodges Badge manufacturing facility, at 1170 E. Main Road, Portsmouth, was emptied in 2018, after the company consolidated its operations. Cowan said the location is particularly suitable for the advanced materials and technology center, because it is near composite manufacturers and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport.
The Investment Committee of R.I. Commerce on Friday recommended $1 million for that work in Rebuild Rhode Island tax credits, as well as $500,000 in First Wave Closing Fund proceeds.
The project will be $6.6 million in all, according to R.I. Commerce.
In August, the state’s congressional delegation announced the facility would receive a $2.3 million federal grant, as well.
Its goal is to act as an incubator for advanced materials and textiles, and to help grow the Rhode Island economy, according to the overview.
The first tenant at the technology center, Graphene Composites, is developing a material that can deter viruses, and is working on applications for COVID-19, according to state officials.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
