Wesley Chapel Company to Receive Small Business Grant

To highlight President Obama’s focus on small businesses as leaders in an economy built to last, Acting Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman announced that the Energy Department will award 88 grants to small businesses in 28 states to develop clean energy technologies with a strong potential for commercialization and job creation.

These awards, totaling more than $16 million in investments, will help small businesses with promising ideas that could improve manufacturing processes, boost the efficiency of buildings, reduce reliance on foreign oil and generate electricity from renewable sources.

Among the small businesses selected is Ultrasonic Technologies Inc., in Wesley Chapel, FL, which will be awarded $149,468. The company will develop a new quality and process control methodology and tool prototype for real-time inspection of crystalline silicon solar and ceramic solid oxide fuel cells. The tool will be used in-line to reduce cost, save energy and increase yield of module production.

“Small businesses form the backbone of our economy, employing half of our workers and creating two out of every three new jobs in the U.S.,” said Poneman. “The grants are just the latest step in the Energy Department’s efforts to support the critical role that small businesses are playing in creating jobs for American workers and expanding our country’s clean energy economy. These businesses are helping to reduce our dependence on imported oil and to protect our air and water, while ensuring that the United States leads in the global clean energy race.”

Companies competing for these grants were encouraged to propose outside-the-box innovations to meet ambitious cost and performance targets.