FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		FUELING FUTURES New lab could be boon for businesses The Herald News, Thursday, July 23, 2009 Bernard Nolan, manager of the Clean Energy Lab at the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center, talks with Patrick Clooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.FALL RIVER - Thanks to a $250,000 grant, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center unveiled its newest offering Wednesday. The Clean Energy Lab, which inhabits three equipment-packed rooms in the ATMC building, is envisioned as a testing ground for ideas on how biofuel, marine, solar and wind capacities can be used to create energy. Officials hope the new lab will foster new renewable energy companies across the region by helping to convert raw energy ideas into marketable technology. “People come here with ideas or concepts and we work with them. CEL has the expertise, equipment and facilities to work with companies and their clean energy concepts. Basically we help them try to figure it all out,” said lab manager Bernard Nolan. “We develop the requirements, build the prototype, integrate the design, test and then assist in the certification process. After that, the center will help them with their business plan and funding options.” John Miller, director of operations for the ATMC and director of the New England Marine Renewable Energy Center, said the new center will provide fledging businesses with an inexpensive outlet to test their ideas before taking them into development. “We’ve got the equipment here, from instruments that measure wind generation to wave energy conversion devices. We have the infrastructure and expertise to help these companies set up their prototypes and help with the design process,” said Miller. “CEL will be an asset to the region, help companies save money, time and expensive mistakes that will eventually help to foster economic development in the area.” Miller said the lab also offers highly qualified engineers and staff from UMass Dartmouth. “This is right in line with what Governor Patrick has been saying all along: Cleaner energy equals improved ecosystems,” said Patrick Clooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, who cited the lab as the first testing facility of its kind in southeastern Massachusetts. Cambridge and Boston have similar centers. “CEL will allow these companies to take the next step in their technology pursuit that will help them to gather data, facilitate technology out of this lab and help the clean energy ball to keep moving forward.” ATMC Director Louis Petrovic said the lab will allow new companies to secure investments more easily because their will be proven as viable long before the development stage. “Investors need to know if these ideas are going to work before spending the money, and CEL allows these companies to test their ideas in order to lower the investment risk, eliminating cost as a question,” said Petrovic. “The driving force behind this is to put these ideas together here and link them with other companies in the area that can help them transform the ideas into reliable clean energy.” The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative provided the grant to create the Clean Energy Lab. Back