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Green Building Alliance Announces $448,000 in Product Innovation Grants

Posted on: Thursday, 13 December 2007, 12:00 CST

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Green Building Alliance (GBA) today announced a total of $448,000 in Product Innovation Grants for seven projects that seek to develop and introduce new and enhanced green building products. Awarded through a competitive selection process, GBA's Product Innovation Grants will expedite the commercialization of new building products within the fast growing green building market. The green building product market is estimated to be worth $30 to $40 billion annually by 2010.

"The green market represents a significant economic opportunity for western Pennsylvania and the entire commonwealth, which ranks 2nd in the country in the number of LEED(R) certified buildings. Our Product Innovation Grant projects include collaboration between private sector companies and university teams located within Pennsylvania," said Rebecca Flora, Executive Director of Green Building Alliance, whose entrepreneurial spirit has steered the success of this 15-year old non-profit that drives market demand and facilitates green building practices and products in western Pennsylvania.

Seven grants were awarded from 23 proposals received by the Green Building Alliance on the inaugural round of Product Innovation Grants. Recipients include:

-- $100,000 for Ductmate GreenSeam II product development, which will significantly reduce duct leakage; a project of Ductmate Industries and the University of Pittsburgh.

-- $100,000 to environmentally and economically assess the production and field performance of insulated concrete forms, in order to most effectively manufacture and deploy this construction product; a project of Tegrant Corporation and the University of Pittsburgh.

-- $81,564 for improved production of pigment as a byproduct of the treatment of coal mine drainage in western Pennsylvania; a project of Iron Oxide Recovery, Hedin Environmental, and the University of Pittsburgh.

-- $81,062 for development of a process simulator for green product decision-making; a project of Burt Hill and Penn State University.

-- $45,736 for sustainable, affordable, low-temperature water system to heat and cool a neighborhood of buildings; a project of Geothermal Energy Systems and Carnegie Mellon University.

-- Two $20,000 Proof-of-Concept grants:

-- Development of a superlattice solar cell prototype; a project of Villanova University;

-- Low energy luminous surfaces: residential lighting using Ceelite LEC technology; a project of Drexel University.

"We solicited Product Innovation Grant proposals in early August 2007 from established Pennsylvania companies looking to develop innovative green building products or green existing product lines or processes, from start-up Pennsylvania companies looking to enter the green building product marketplace, and from Pennsylvania university researchers and teams developing innovative green building products and the processes to produce them," explained Aurora Sharrard, Ph.D., GBA Research Manager and project director of the Product Innovation Grants. "We're very pleased with the initial response and look forward to the next round of submissions."

Proposals are assessed based on the criteria of green building leadership, technical merit, commercialization plan viability, partnership resources, and potential market impact. Grant award decisions are made at the discretion of GBA on the advice of the Product Innovation Grant Review Committee, which is comprised of individuals with a variety of relevant experience, expertise, and background, including consultants, manufacturers, investors, economic development stakeholders, and academic researchers. Participation on the Review Committee is kept confidential.

A Request for Proposals for the second round of Product Innovation Grants will be distributed in early January, with final proposals due March 10, 2008. For submission information, visit http://www.pa-greenbuildingproducts.org/product_innovation_grants.aspx. Funding for GBA's Green Building Products Initiative, under which the Product Innovation Grants are awarded, is due in part to the following funders: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, The Heinz Endowments and the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

Green Building Alliance is a non-profit organization that advances economic prosperity and human well being in western Pennsylvania by driving market demand and facilitating green building practices and products that have minimal impact on the natural environment. The Product Innovation Grants are a component of GBA's economic development program, the Green Building Products Initiative, which serves all of Pennsylvania.

Green Building Alliance

CONTACT: Aurora Sharrard of Green Building Alliance, +1-412-953-9980,auroras@gbapgh.org

Web Site: http://www.gbapgh.org/http://www.pa-greenbuildingproducts.org/product_innovation_grants.aspx

Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire

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