Renewable energy options will boost Alabama competitiveness
Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield says initiatives to expand the availability of renewable energy in the state will enhance Alabama’s ability to compete for some economic development projects. This year, TVA entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase 80 megawatts of solar power from NextEra’s solar facility near Florence, and just last month Google and TVA…
Google Alabama data center will provide boost to state’s tech sector
Top Alabama economic development officials believe Google’s plans to build a $600 million data center in Jackson County will optimize efforts to expand the state’s high-tech industry sector. Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said Google is a tech giant whose name conveys instant validity within the industry. Another plus: Google is…
Alabama Innovation Fund to award grants for technology growth
The Alabama Innovation Fund has $4.5 million to support programs that seek to leverage research performed by the state’s universities and other institutions to generate new ventures, create jobs and spur additional economic development opportunities. Created in 2012 as part of the “Accelerate Alabama” strategic growth plan, the Alabama Innovation Fund awards grants to bolster…
6 startup teams advance to Alabama Launchpad final round
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Alabama Launchpad, a premier entrepreneurship competition, announced that six startup teams are one step closer to winning a share of up to $250,000 that could help them to take their venture to the next level. Ten teams competed last week at Evonik Industries’ Birmingham location in the first pitch event for the…
Google to build $600 million Alabama data center
Google announced plans today to build a $600 million data center in northeast Alabama’s Jackson County, creating up to 100 jobs at a state-of-the-art facility designed for efficiency and powered by renewable energy. The data center will act as a hub for Internet traffic, operating in a network that keeps the Google search engine and…
Marshall engineers 3-D print copper rocket part in NASA milestone
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – NASA engineers at Alabama’s Marshall Space Flight Center have produced the first full-scale, copper rocket part using additive manufacturing – a milestone for aerospace 3-D printing. The part is a combustion chamber liner that must operate at extreme conditions during flight. In fact, temperatures on the inside of the paper-thin copper liner…
Twin entrepreneurs behind RadioBro target mini-satellite, aviation opportunities
PARIS — Twin brothers Mark and Eric Becnel built their first mini-satellite while attending the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Now 27, they operate a company that has developed communications radios for small spacecraft and a data logging kit for aircraft testing that will be on exhibit at the Paris Air Show. “We plan to stay…
Alabama rocketeer Tim Pickens talks space flight, rocket bikes
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Like the city where he lives, Tim Pickens has rockets in his DNA. Over the years, Pickens has earned a reputation for masterminding an unconventional propulsion system that took a private spacecraft to the edge of space and for quirky inventions that include a rocket-propelled bike. Pickens grew up in Huntsville at…
Alabama students blast off to victory in largest rocketry competition
A team of students from Russellville won first place in the world’s largest rocketry competition, earning the right to represent the United States in an international fly-off at the Paris International Airshow in June. The RCS Engineers Rocketry Team beat out 100 competing teams to claim victory in the 2015 national finals of the Team…
Alabama Launchpad Innovation Awards nomination deadline looms
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Nominations are open for the 2015 Alabama Launchpad Innovation Awards, which recognize significant contributions to the state’s innovation economy. Alabama Launchpad, a program of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, will accept nominations through May 17 for the annual awards. Winners will be honored at the Fifth Annual Alabama Launchpad Innovation and Entrepreneurship…
