Massachusetts Universities and Companies Attract a Quarter of all Awards

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the dean of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, today applauded the U.S. Department of Energy for awarding $106 million in Recovery Act funding for advanced clean energy research, including more than $22 million for projects in Massachusetts. Universities and companies based in the Commonwealth received grants for nine clean energy technology research projects, nearly a quarter of all awards.

“With this funding, we will ensure that Massachusetts will remain at the forefront of the clean energy technology revolution sweeping the United States,” said Rep. Markey. “Our educational institutions and clean energy companies have long served as the birthplace of innovative technologies that help to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign oil, re-energize our economy and create clean energy jobs right here at home. I am pleased that these dollars will provide these Massachusetts universities and companies with an opportunity to continue their great work and create jobs. I congratulate each award recipient.”

The research projects will be funded through the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.  The funding will go towards innovative projects like the one awarded to the University of Massachusetts—Amherst, which will use microorganisms to create liquid fuels in a more efficient process than plants can currently do with sunlight. Other Massachusetts awardees—which include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, A123 Systems, and Ginkgo BioWorks—will take on some of our greatest energy challenges, including the next generation of batteries for electric vehicles and technologies for removing carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.

The Obama Administration’s $106 million funding announcement comes as part of the overall $90 billion investment the Recovery Act is making in creating jobs and driving economic growth through innovation in clean energy. 

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