Three Northern Kentucky companies, Pilus Energy, Dito Solutions and Analytical Solutions and Providers, received a total of $335,000 in funding from the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation to spur science and technology entrepreneurism.
“Entrepreneurism often flourishes during a recession,” says Casey Barach, VP of entrepreneurship at Northern Kentucky ezone, which aided the companies in the grant process. “These grants are critical for small companies to take their products and services to the next level. There are a number of opportunities for companies to receive funding from Kentucky and we’re here at the ezone to assist with the process.”
Ditto Solutions, in Florence, developed and is marketing DitoAdvisor.com a comprehensive, direct to consumer financial planning and management Web site. The company says it will deliver “independent and objective financial advice on virtually any significant topic in personal finance.” The company received $75,000 from the Rural Innovation Fund.
Analytical Solutions and Providers (ASAP Analytical), in Covington, received $30,000 from the Rural Innovation fund. It recently introduced the InfraRed Detector that allows forensic chemists to identify the “molecular structure and chemical fingerprint” of drugs that have been chemically altered. The InfraRed Detector is highly useful in the forensic, Homeland Security, pharmaceutical and petrochemical sectors.
Pilus Energy, in Covington, was awarded $250,000 and is the first Northern Kentucky company to receive dollars from the Kentucky New Energy Venture fund. Pilus developed a patent-pending, “hybrid microbial biofuel cell with an ultra capacitor to harvest electrons from their proprietary bacteria which consume sewage, fertilizer run-off, animal waste and rotting plant materials.”
"This funding from KSTC will enable us to attract the specialists we need to move our technology forward,” says Jason Barkeloo, founder and president of Pilus Energy. “Over the next year we will employ nearly 40 people from bacterial farming to chemical engineering, including support staff. With a successful product launch, we will create an ecosystem that can employ hundreds of people and give rise to new businesses supporting our energy reactor technology."
The Fall 2009 Science and Technology Corporation application process is from Sept. 17 – Oct. 15. For more information, call Keith Schneider at the Northern Kentucky ezone at 859-292-7785 or visit www.nkyezone.org for more information.
Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Source: Cheryl Besl, Strata-G Communications and Jason Barkeloo, founder and president of Pilus Energy
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