Startup Sun Charge Systems eyes solar solution for mobile world
CLEVELAND, Alabama – In the workshops at Hornsby Steel, hulking machines bend and curve steel plates, pipes and rods to the exacting specifications of architects and builders. And it’s the Blount County firm’s manufacturing know-how that’s at the heart of a new venture that aims to keep mobile devices charged when people are on the…
Game-changing GE Aviation technology comes to life in Alabama (video)
For GE Aviation, two futuristic manufacturing technologies that will change the design and performance of jet engines are taking off in Alabama. This week, the Ohio-based company announced a $200 million plan to build a pair of plants in Huntsville that will produce silicon carbide materials used to make ultra-lightweight ceramic matrix composite components (CMCs)…
UAH building $2 million wind tunnel
The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) will soon be home to a new $2 million wind tunnel system championed by the university’s eminent scholar in propulsion, Phillip Ligrani. Ligrani’s TranSonic/SuperSonic/WindTunnel, or TS/SS/WT, is under construction in the Air Breathing Test Cell at UAH’s Johnson Research Center. The facility’s test sections will be capable of…
Alabama Innovation Fund awards $4.5 million for promising research
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – The Alabama Innovation Fund has awarded nearly $4.5 million to advance research being conducted at universities and other institutions, providing key support for programs that could generate new ventures and create jobs across the state. This year, the Alabama Innovation Fund is funding 14 projects at six different universities and two research-focused…
REHAU opens Alabama technical center to serve automotive industry
CULLMAN, Alabama – European auto parts maker REHAU formally opened its first North American technical center at the company’s manufacturing facility in Cullman, creating a U.S. site to handle research and development functions that had been conducted primarily in Germany. REHAU said the ultra-modern technical center, staffed with 45 engineers, will enable the company to bundle…
Alabama Launchpad funds 4 startups, honors innovation (update)
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — With Alabama Innovation Week starting Monday, Alabama Launchpad kicked off the celebration a little early with the finale of its latest round of competition. On Thursday, Alabama Launchpad awarded $240,000 to four start-up companies participating in its state-wide entrepreneur competition. The program, established by Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA), works to…
Sidewalk Film Festival shines national spotlight on Alabama
One of the coolest film festivals in the world takes place right here in Alabama. The Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, starting Friday and running through the weekend, earned this distinction last year from MovieMaker magazine, and this is not the first time the festival has gained national attention. Time magazine listed Sidewalk among the best…
Alabama Launchpad seeks next generation of innovators in competition finale
Even Alabama’s largest companies first began with an idea, and the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA) is searching for the next great one. Through Alabama Launchpad, a premier entrepreneur competition, the EDPA seeks to fund the next generation of Alabama innovators in hopes of launching the next great homegrown company. Its most recent cycle…
Russellville rocket team sets sights on NASA Student Launch program
A student team from Russellville is aiming for even loftier goals after winning a major U.S. rocketry competition and then a high-profile international contest at this summer’s Paris Air Show. The RCS Engineering Team, made up of seven middle and high school students from Franklin County, plans to follow its triumph in Paris by participating…
Auburn University, NASA to explore 3-D printing applications
AUBURN, Alabama – Auburn University and NASA today signed a Space Act Agreement to explore and advance the applications of additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing — a technology that will revolutionize how all kinds of products, from simple items to components in rocket engines, are made. The signing took place during the university’s forum on…
