Tuesday, November 22, 2022
  Awards and Recognitions

By Victoria Brito Morales

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – UTRGV is part of a series of 18 projects the U. S. Department of Energy has funded to promote equity and diversity in clean energy innovation

The $3.6 million – the U.S. DOE’s Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize – awarded to the projects supports teams of entrepreneurs, community organizers, nonprofits and academic institutions working to achieve energy justice in clean energy. 

The U.S.-Mexico Science Foundation for Science (USMFS) project, in partnership with UTRGV Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center, UTRGV Commercialization and Innovation Center, I-DREAM4D at UTRGV’s College of Engineering and TMAC, is called the “Solar Utilization and Commercialization Coalition for Energy Efficiency Devices.” 

The project seeks to bolster the solar manufacturing industry in Texas and support startups in the industry to build economic potential in the Rio Grande Valley. The funding will support 10 start-up companies. 

“Our project is focused on the Lower Rio Grande Valley,” said Jessica Lillie, U.S. executive director of the USMFS. “We looked at the demographics and statistics of the region, which are considered economically and historically underserved, making it eligible for this award.

More than 200 applications were submitted to the DOE for phase one of funding, and the USMFS/UTRGV’s project was one of the 18 selected to receive $200,000 each. 

“It was really competitive. And we're really proud that our team was selected,” said David Ortiz, director of TMAC. 

Ortiz said UTRGV CECS will provide assistance with additive equipment and provide necessary prototyping. 

“There's a lot of technical expertise and equipment here at UTRGV, including some metrology (the science of measurement) equipment and laser-cutting processes, which is good for prototyping as well,” Ortiz said. “The type of support that they'll get is prototyping plus other technical specifications to consider during the solar production,  as well. We have two faculty members involved in the project.”

Ortiz, along with Dr. Jianzhi “James” Li, UTRGV professor and interim chair of Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, and Dr. Farid Ahmed, assistant professor of MAIE, will provide direct support to the project where necessary. 

“This grant is like a seed. We hope to leverage on this and bring in more energy manufacturers to the region,” Li said. 

Additionally, the UTRGV CIC and ECC will provide business-side support to the start ups. 

The goal is to offer support to entrepreneurs and start-up companies who are interested in clean energy and need support. 

Evaluation of applications begins in December, with the program starting in January 2023. 

There will be six phase-two awardees who will receive $500,000, and this project is eligible to apply. 

“How we perform and what we're able to accomplish in phase one will set us up for being in a really competitive position to get even more funding for phase two,” Lillie said. “That will let us expand the program so we can serve more companies, bring in more students and more resources to the region.”

For more information or to apply, contact Lillie at jlillie@usmfs.org.



ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.