Contact: Joshua Morby
414.791.9120
jmorby@m-werc.org
[Milwaukee] – On the heels of WERCBench Labs third annual Early-Stage Startup program, officials are excited to announce the companies that will participate in this Advanced Innovation Program (AIP) third year. This program of the Midwest Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC) is funded by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).
Jeff Anthony, Chief Operating Office at M-WERC, and WERCBench Labs Managing Director Jacquin Davidson will lead and coordinate efforts in the program, which starts next Tuesday, March 6 and runs for eight weeks.
Thanks to the support of the State of Wisconsin through WEDC, each team will receive a $10,000 grant at the beginning of the program. Teams that meet all program expectations and graduate, will receive an additional $10,000 in the form of an investment, using a royalty-based financing mechanism.
“WERCBench Labs surrounds entrepreneurs with the resources and connections they need to test their ideas and grow their businesses,” said Aaron Hagar, WEDC VP of Entrepreneurship & Innovation. “This valuable program plays an important role in bringing innovative technologies to the global marketplace.”
Teams selected for the AIP program includes recent graduates of the fall program:
Switched Source
Switched Source provides power-electronics solutions for electric distribution companies that make the grid more resilient and efficient, while supporting the integration of more distributed generation.
EW Panel
EWPanel’s patent-pending nanogenerators convert movements to electricity, which can be used to charge low-power electronics such as Bluetooth units, sensors, and LED lights. The nanogenerators are flexible in design, and can be incorporated into a variety of devices to allow for self-contained power generation and smart sensing.
NovoMoto
NovoMoto provides clean electricity for off-grid rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. NovoMoto’s stand-alone solar-powered systems are cheaper, more efficient, and cleaner than the kerosene and diesel currently used in these communities.
ARIS Technology
ARIS Technology is working on an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to eradicate human quality control errors in manufacturing.
Other teams that are new to WERCBench Labs include:
Present Power Systems
Present Power Systems designs and supplies advanced power electronics to OEMs in the medical, solar and energy storage industries.
Blue Line Battery
Blue Line Battery manufactures lithium-ion batteries for motive power, forklifts, stationary energy storage and backup power systems.
Emergy Labs
Emergy Labs transforms food and beverage wastewater into advanced materials.
WERCBench Labs is housed within the M-WERC Energy Innovation Center, which hosts an ever-growing collection of state-of-the-art testing, prototyping and small-scale production equipment. Program participants have unparalleled opportunities and access to the leading companies in the world on energy, power and controls technology enabled by the M-WERC regional cluster of business and academic institutions.
M-WERC’s members include representatives from more than 90 of the nation’s top Energy, Power, and Controls businesses, research and technical colleges, universities and partners directly involved in the energy sector.
More information on WERCBench Labs and a preview of future efforts can be found at wercbench.com.
