The funding comes from the Technology Maturation and Commercialization Program run by Los Alamos' Civilian and Industrial Technology Program Office. The program, now in its second year, is part of Los Alamos' ongoing efforts to boost regional economic development in Northern New Mexico.
"Both the number and quality of proposals were great this year, so the situation was very competitive," said Sue Fenimore, project leader for Los Alamos' Small Business Initiative in the CIT. "All indications are that the program will continue to draw more interested businesses over the years." Los Alamos awarded $146,000 worth of contracts last year.
Three of the eight contract recipients received tech maturation funding last year: ErgoTech Systems in Los Alamos, Chama Valley Productions in Chama and Positive Energy Inc. in Santa Fe. The new recipients are AweSoft Engineering Inc. in Jemez Springs, Flexible Liner Underground Technologies Ltd. Co. in Pojoaque, 54Go in Farmington, Kinetisis in Los Alamos and STAR Cyroelectronics LLC, also in Los Alamos. Awards ranged from about $9,000 to about $34,000.
Positive Energy plans to use its new funding for final development of a solar electrical thermal hydronic (hot water) control and distribution technology that increases hot water heating efficiency in solar electric-powered homes by 80 percent, and to develop user manuals.
Chama Valley Productions will use its new funding to design and manufacture a prototype mobile rock-fall fence for installation along highways for slope stabilization and avalanche control.
ErgoTech received new funding to enable testing of its new Java-based control technology for two-way processing equipment communications in the semiconductor industry. The technology can run on any computing platform and is Internet/Intranet ready.
AweSoft has developed a Windows-based software application called Topo3D, which uses U.S. Geological Survey raw data to display three-dimensional terrain models in real time. AweSoft will use its award to help commercialize the software.
Flexible Liner specializes in trenchless technology, comprising various methods for installing and fixing underground utility systems with minimal surface disruption and destruction caused by excavation. The Los Alamos award will enable the company to fabricate a pressure feed-through device for use in installing cured-in-place liners into sewer pipes or gas lines to seal crack and leaks.
54Go markets a noncorrosive, nonhazardous product that enhances oil production from slow or plugged formations by changing the viscosity of heavy crude oils. It also is used in the bioremediation of coal-tar creosote (resulting from high-temperature treatment of coal) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated materials. The Los Alamos award will be used to perform additional product field testing and laboratory analyses.
Kinetisis is a start-up company that specializes in Los Alamos-developed low-temperature film deposition processing technology and will use its award to purchase analytical equipment.
STAR Cryoelectronics also is a start-up company that soon will begin designing and manufacturing magnetometers called low-temperature superconducting quantum interference devices, or SQUIDS. This company will use its award to manufacture two different mask designs.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.