TechnologyArchive for the ‘’ Category

Central Illinois named US Tech Hub for biomanufacturing by Biden-Harris administration

From the press release:

President Joe Biden announced Monday that the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing Hub (iFAB) is among 31 designated Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs (Tech Hubs) by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) — recognizing Central Illinois as a globally competitive center for innovation and job creation in biomanufacturing.

Led by the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the iFAB consortium includes 30 partner organizations representing academic, industry, government, and nonprofit partners committed to catalyzing industry growth in Champaign, Piatt, and Macon counties.

“The iFAB designation leverages IBRL’s five years of operational success. Companies come here to prove their technologies, and our aim is for them to remain in the region and establish early manufacturing facilities to progress from ideation to commercialization,” said iFAB principal investigator Beth Conerty, the Associate Director of Business Development at IBRL, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and The Grainger College of Engineering.

The EDA Tech Hubs program was authorized by the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 with the goal to boost economic growth, spur job creation, and ensure U.S. national security.

The precision fermentation industry is projected to reach $11.8 billion by 2028, with the potential to generate one million jobs by 2030. The EDA’s Tech Hub designation elevates the reputation and confidence needed to attract more funding, resources, companies, and talent in this space to Central Illinois.

Precision fermentation is a growing area of biomanufacturing that can turn local feedstocks, mainly corn and soybeans, into a variety of goods — including textiles, biofuels, food ingredients, polymers, pigments, and more domestically. This sustainable, scalable, and biological manufacturing process relies on microbes to convert sugars into high-value products.

Beth Conerty, Carly McCrory-McKay, and Nicole Bateman (L-R) helped form the iFAB Tech Hub to spur economic growth and job creation in Central Illinois through biomanufacturing and precision fermentation.

“Our position as a regional leader in precision fermentation is solidified by this designation,” said iFAB partner Nicole Bateman, president of the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur & Macon County. “Receiving federal recognition unlocks opportunities for infrastructure development and business investment and attraction, which results in job creation. We have been partnering across the corridor informally for several years, and the momentum in the region will be enhanced by this formal designation.”

As a designated Tech Hub, iFAB has cleared the first phase of the Tech Hubs program and qualifies to apply for phase two funding of $45 million to $70 million. EDA anticipates that between five and 10 of the 31 Tech Hubs will receive phase two funding.

If successful, phase two funding would support several iFAB initiatives to expand the Central Illinois precision fermentation industry:

“This historic announcement is a result of our regional and statewide collaboration and will enhance business attraction to our region, expanding our ever-growing AgTech footprint,” said iFAB partner Carly McCrory-McKay, executive director of the Champaign County EDC. “We’re thrilled about this Tech Hub designation for our communities and will work with our partners to ensure that the iFAB AgTech Corridor—made up of Champaign, Macon, and Piatt counties—becomes the global leader and innovation center in biomanufacturing. This is a game changer for innovation and economic growth, and we’re proud to say that iFAB is a Tech Hub.”

iFAB’s Tech Hub designation is a return on investment by the State of Illinois. “IBRL was a strategic experiment that has shown proof of concept,” Conerty said. “We have been overwhelmed by the response for equipment, infrastructure, and expertise. We are now bursting at the seams with a waitlist for equipment and processes. With more support, we could be doing so much more.”

The consortium’s industry partners include ADM and Boston Bioprocess, who both have operations at Research Park, as well as Primient and Clarkson Grain Company.

iFAB is one of two designated Tech Hubs in Illinois; the second is the Chicago-based The Bloch Tech Hub that focuses on quantum technologies. Both coalitions are part of Innovate Illinois, a strategic initiative led by Governor JB Pritzker to establish Tech Hubs in the state.

“As one of America’s leading research universities, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign solves problems and helps to power our nation’s economy,” said U. of I. Chancellor Robert E. Jones. “These TechHub designations in Illinois unite our strengths with our academic, industrial, community, and government partners to imagine a bright future for communities across the region.”

Press:

Biden-Harris Administration Designates 31 Tech Hubs Across America

President Biden Highlights how his Bidenomics Agenda is Growing the Economy—Tech Hubs (VIDEO)

Gov. Pritzker, Sen. Duckworth, and Sen. Durbin Announce Two Illinois Programs Selected as U.S. EDA Tech Hubs

Central Illinois named US Tech Hub for biomanufacturing by Biden-Harris administration

Two Illinois programs selected as U.S. EDA Tech Hubs

Budzinski applauds Tech Hub Designation at University of Illinois

U of C, U of I in the running for millions from feds for advanced tech research

Central Illinois site among 31 chosen as ‘tech hub’ by Biden administration

Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week Returns for Fourth Year

For Immediate Release
March 6, 2023

Contacts:

Carly McCrory-McKay, Executive Director
Champaign County EDC
carly@champaigncountyedc.org
217-649-2586

Laura Bleill, Director, External Engagement
University of Illinois Research Park
lwbleill@Illinois.edu
217-417-6671

Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week Returns for Fourth Year

CHAMPAIGN, IL – The annual Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week, presented by Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, University of Illinois Research Park, and You’re Welcome CU, returns for its fourth celebration in 2023 with both in-person and virtual events. The five-day event, March 6-10, celebrates Champaign-Urbana’s robust AgTech ecosystem, including the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Parkland College, corporate innovation partners, startups, state-of-the-art facilities, student organizations, local ag companies, the Illinois AgTech Accelerator, and more.

“This week encapsulates what makes Champaign-Urbana the “epicenter” of AgTech,” said Laura Bleill, Director of External Engagement at University of Illinois Research Park. “Serving as a neutral convener, the AgTech Summit convenes a kaleidoscope of perspectives and expertise that is representative of our ecosystem — it extends across the value chain of agriculture. We are grateful to our speakers, sponsors, and partners, and we are excited to host 600+ registered participants.”

Participating AgTech Week organizations include Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, University of Illinois Research Park, GDM, Parkland College, Illinois AgTech Accelerator, AirScout, Village of Savoy, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s College of ACES, Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL), Center for Digital Agriculture, and Office of Corporate Relations.

The schedule of events includes the following:

  • Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL) and University of Illinois Research Park (UIRP) tours
  • (Beer) Flights at Triptych Brewing with AirScout, sponsored by Village of Savoy
  • AgTech Summit, followed by the AgTech Showcase & Networking Reception
  • Center for Digital Agriculture’s Annual Conference
  • AgTech Week Happy Hour at Riggs Beer Company, sponsored by GDM
  • 200+ students visiting Parkland College to learn about their ag programs, visit laboratories, talk with faculty, and see demonstrations from current Parkland ag students
  • Webinar about how to get involved in gener8tor’s Illinois AgTech Accelerator, powered by Serra Ventures

“We’re grateful to all of our local partners who have worked with us to create an amazing lineup of events to showcase why Champaign-Urbana is a leader in AgTech,” said Carly McCrory-McKay, Executive Director at Champaign County Economic Development Corporation. “This week also provides an opportunity to celebrate what’s been accomplished in the last year, which includes four AgTech company expansions in University of Illinois Research Park, local startup HabiTerre being honored as the Illinois Innovation Network’s Innovator of the Year, and Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations awarding a grant of $34 million to the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project, an international research effort led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that are engineering crops to be more productive by improving photosynthesis.”

Champaign-Urbana has long been a hub for technology as well as agriculture. In the past decade, those two paths have converged, paving the way for the community to become an epicenter for AgTech.

The full Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week schedule of events can be found online at http://cuagtechweek.org/. Registration is required at many events, but all are free to attend.

 

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Former Ambassador and UN Official Ertharin Cousin to Keynote gener8tor’s OnRamp Agriculture Conference

From gener8tor:

July 7, 2022

Former Ambassador and UN Official Ertharin Cousin to Keynote gener8tor’s OnRamp Agriculture Conference

Cousin will headline an agenda that will focus on sustainable agriculture and agriculture technology trends

Champaign, IL – gener8tor — a venture capital fund and startup accelerator network — today announced that Ertharin Cousin, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Agencies for Food and Agriculture and Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, will headline and deliver the keynote at the OnRamp Agriculture Conference on July 25 and 26 at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

The OnRamp Agriculture Conference brings together leading corporations, investors and startups across key industries. This year’s conference will discuss AgTech funding, scaling sustainable agriculture, industry trends and so much more. OnRamp Agriculture is made possible due to support from the University of Illinois Research Park, Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, Cooperative Ventures and Serra Ventures.

“Cousin’s rich experience influencing global agriculture policy and using agriculture as a force for good throughout the world will inspire the investors, startups, and thought leaders gathered in Champaign to chart how the private sector can positively and meaningfully contribute to the future of agriculture,” said gener8tor Partner Maggie Brickerman.

After serving as Ambassador and Head of the UN World Food Programme, Cousin founded and today guides the Food Systems for the Future team as President and CEO. As a global nutrition and food systems thought leader and advocate, Cousin also serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford University Center on Food Security and Environment.

Prior to her global hunger work, Cousin helped lead the U.S. domestic fight to end hunger including service as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of America’s Second Harvest – now Feeding America. Cousin’s previous private sector experience includes working for Albertsons as the Senior Vice-President of Public Affairs.

Cousin’s keynote will be the signature moment of a conference featuring private-sector experts and thought leaders from diverse agriculture sectors, including Andrew Selck from EY, Marisa Bocci from K&L Gates, Teresa Garcia-Moore from The Sustainability Consortium and Rob Shultz from Serra Ventures.

To learn more about the OnRamp Agriculture Conference, keynote and other speakers, and how to register, visit https://onrampagricultureconference.com.

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About gener8tor

gener8tor is a venture capital fund and startup accelerator. Ranked one of the top-15 accelerators in the United States, gener8tor operates programs and conferences for startups, musicians, artists, investors, and workers and prioritizes investing across race, place, and gender. Fast Company named gener8tor one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies in 2020 and one of the Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2021.

Starfire Industries Announces Expansion in Champaign, New Facility to Support Deep Technology Manufacturing and Research & Development

For Immediate Release
May 20, 2022

Starfire Industries Announces Expansion in Champaign, New Facility to Support Deep Technology Manufacturing and Research & Development

Starfire’s new 194,000 square foot facility will create 22 full-time deep tech jobs

CHAMPAIGN – May 20, 2022 – Today Starfire Industries, LLC announced an expansion to establish a new manufacturing facility in Champaign, Illinois, located at 3310 N. Duncan Road. The $9.4 million project accommodates growth to a 194,000 square foot facility to increase manufacturing and research & development capabilities. The project will create at least 22 full time-jobs and retain 20 full-time jobs, as well as support 12 engineering co-op and part-time professional jobs.

“Technology investments over the past 12 years in compact particle accelerators and high-power plasma sources have resulted in game-changing innovations”, says Starfire President/CEO Brian Jurczyk. “Our team is making significant impacts across the semiconductor, nuclear, aerospace, medical, environmental, energy, mining, automotive, and security industries. Starfire reached the point where it needed to scale; finding the right location for expansion was critical. The former Patterson building is a unique space with a combination of office, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution that will support Starfire’s growth for years to come. We are excited to make this place our home and stay within the robust Champaign-Urbana deep technology ecosystem.”

Starfire Industries, recently named one of the top-10 worldwide non-destructive testing companies by Manufacturing Outlook Magazine, specializes in portable high-energy particle accelerators for diagnostic imaging, environmental sensing, active interrogation, and even oncology therapeutic treatments. This is accomplished using a process that combines physics, math, chemistry, and biology to create a strategy for inspecting, examining, and testing materials for flaws, defects, and more. Starfire’s patented Centurion® system is being used for the rapid detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in groundwater and soil samples and quantification at the ppt level to meet stringent EPA and EU standards. Starfire is a multi-disciplinary deep technology company leveraging technical depth in many fields. The team consists of several PhDs in nuclear, plasma, radiological and electrical engineering, as well as engineers from electrical, mechanical, aerospace and material science.

Starfire’s patented IMPULSE® product has revolutionized thin-film coatings by providing precision engineering of materials at the atomic scale. Their technology is used in the manufacture of photovoltaic, superconductor, fuel cell and battery storage systems—as well as coatings on full-length nuclear fuel rods to increase strength, corrosion resistance and accident tolerance under an SBIR project with the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy and Westinghouse.

“The new facility will give us the space for a pilot in-line production system to process the long and difficult to handle nuclear fuel cladding”, says Starfire VP/CTO Robert Stubbers. “The combination of engineering, processing, QA/QC testing and distribution space is advantageous.”

Starfire develops solutions to solve challenging problems, moving ideas from the whiteboard to production. They work with a variety of federal and international organizations on innovative research & development and with a broad spectrum of global companies on products and services to meet their demanding applications.

“Starfire Industries is truly a homegrown success story, and one we’re proud to celebrate,” said Carly McCrory-McKay, executive director of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation. “This story is a testament to what’s possible in Champaign County and the state of Illinois. Under Brian’s leadership, the company has grown from a startup to a large-scale manufacturing facility. We’re grateful for their continued investment in our community and we look forward to supporting their growth.”

“We are so delighted that the Starfire team chose to stay in Champaign and continue to grow their company where it began,” stated City of Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen.

Since graduating from the EnterpriseWorks startup incubator at University of Illinois Research Park in 2009, Starfire Industries has grown from concept research & development to manufacturing plasma sources, neutron generators and high-voltage power supplies for a range of industries. They will soon move from their existing Champaign location, a 14,000 square foot facility in University of Illinois Research Park, to an impressive 194,000 square foot technology center. The 3310 N. Duncan Road expansion will enable greater on-site collaborative partnerships, direct services to end-users under strategic supplier agreements, manufacturing and global distribution.

“Starfire is a stellar example of the deep tech innovation that emerges from scientists at the University of Illinois and that remains in Champaign County for the tech and engineering talent needed to fuel its continued growth,” said Laura Appenzeller, UI Research Park Executive Director. “We are so grateful to have launched their small business at the Research Park and thank the founders for their perseverance, innovation, and dedication to their employees.”

The expansion is scheduled for completion in 2023.

About Starfire Industries, LLC:

Founded by Brian Jurczyk, PhD MBA, and Robert Stubbers, PhD, Starfire Industries LLC is a “deep technology” company focused on nuclear and plasma technologies for demanding applications. Starfire produces the nGen® and Centurion® ultra-compact particle accelerators used for medical therapy, environmental sensing, nuclear security, and non-destructive imaging.  Starfire produces the IMPULSE® and RADION™ pulsed power plasma sources and systems used for nuclear fuel fabrication, superconductor coatings, semiconductor EUV lithography, lightweight electric vehicle assembly, high-temperature aerospace materials, and thin-film deposition and etching applications.

Their industry-changing solutions are designed, manufactured, and delivered from their headquarters in Champaign, Illinois to end-users across six continents and Earth orbit. Learn more at https://www.starfireindustries.com/.

 

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Press:

Growing Champaign tech company moving to larger building, The News-Gazette

Starfire Industries announces expansion in Champaign, WCIA 3 News

gBETA AgTech Companies Graduate at Virtual Pitch Night

CHAMPAIGN, IL– Nationally ranked startup accelerator gener8tor is nearing the end of its gBETA AgTech Spring 2021 program and preparing for its Virtual Pitch Night (“Demo Day”) at 4 p.m. CT on March 11. This event will be part of CU AgTech Week and the whole AgTech community is invited to attend the free virtual event.

gBETA AgTech is one of two early-stage business accelerator programs offered by the Illinois AgTech Accelerator and accepts five companies per cohort.

The gBETA AgTech Spring 2021 cohort kicked off Jan. 20 with five startups who worked for seven weeks with the gBETA team to meet mentors, gain customer traction, and pitch to accelerators and investors. The cohort graduates March 11 at Pitch Night, where each company will deliver a five-minute pitch to an audience of mentors, investors and community members. This is an opportunity to hear all about the innovative ideas coming out of our community and support these entrepreneurs. There will be time before and after the presentations to network with the startup companies and other attendees virtually, and giveaways during the event.

“We are fortunate to have had five incredibly talented teams working on impactful and meaningful solutions to our food supply challenges and opportunities,” said Jack Marck, Managing Director of Illinois AgTech Accelerator. “These companies offer a glimpse of what the future of ag and food will be like, and the CU AgTech week is the perfect time to share these solutions with the world.”

“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to partner with gener8tor during the second-annual Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week and showcase the gBETA AgTech Spring 2021 cohort,” said Carly McCrory-McKay, Executive Director of Champaign County Economic Development Corporation. “The Illinois AgTech Accelerator – as well as resources like the College of ACES at University of Illinois, Parkland College, corporate partnerships in University of Illinois Research Park, and direct access to large grower networks – is why Champaign-Urbana is known as an ‘epicenter for AgTech’.”

The gBETA AgTech program is offered thanks to the support of Serra Ventures, GEM Realty Capital, Fox Ventures, University of Illinois Research Park, and Champaign County Economic Development Corporation.

Startups interested in learning more about participating in the program should contact Illinois AgTech Accelerator Managing Director Jack Marck (jack@gener8tor.com). For more information or to register for Pitch Night, visit l ive.remo.co/e/illinois-agtech-accelerator-pitc/register.

Download the full press release here.

 

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