FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems Announces Sustainable
Energy Research and Building Innovation Center in Boston’s Innovation
District
Fraunhofer partners with federal, state and city agencies on one-of-a-kind
$19.5 million Clean Energy Center that will serve as high-tech demonstration
showcase for manufacturers and systems
providers.
BOSTON, MA, May 19, 2011 –/WORLD-WIRE/– The (CSE) today announced that it
will develop a sustainable energy research and building innovation center at
5 Channel Center in Boston’s Innovation District. The 50,000-square-foot
applied research facility and building technology showcase will serve as a
unique factory of innovation in support of established and start-up
companies that are developing and demonstrating the next generation of
energy efficiency technologies. It will also house Fraunhofer’s technical
R&D labs and the TechBridge start-up accelerator group to support clean
energy businesses in the Innovation District.
“The new building for the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy
(CSE) will literally be a living laboratory, attracting building technology
pace-setters from around the nation and the international business community
to demonstrate the future of sustainable buildings,” said Dr. Roland
Schindler, executive director of the Fraunhofer CSE. “The CSE facility will
help develop the City of Boston’s Innovation District and the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts as a hub of sustainable energy technology and research.”
“We have secured our first anchor partner and are currently in the process
of identifying additional companies who may be interested in joining our
effort,” explained Nolan Browne, the center’s managing director.
Fraunhofer CSE, a division of the non-profit Fraunhofer USA, creates jobs
through translational R&D work that takes place at the facility.
The center will continue to focus on development of low-cost,
high-efficiency systems, products and best practices. This work, which is
done on behalf of industry partners, will generate jobs by supporting client
company growth and profitability.
“Boston continues to support and attract cutting-edge research, and I’m
proud that Fraunhofer is joining this exciting mix,” said Mayor Thomas M.
Menino. “Their clean energy center is a great addition to the growing
cluster of clean-tech workers in the Innovation District.
Our leading universities and research community are unmatched sources of
talent, and Fraunhofer’s expertise and international reputation will help
budding entrepreneurs grow their ideas in Boston. The center is a win for
our economy, our environment, and the growth of the Innovation District.”
“The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration is
pleased to work with Mayor Thomas Menino, Fraunhofer USA and local leaders
to help build the $20 million Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, which
will serve as a catalyst for job and economic growth in the region,” said
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John R.
Fernandez. “This smart investment to advance the development of the 5
Channel Center and commercialize sustainable energy technologies and
next-generation building efficiency systems will provide a much needed boost
to the local economic ecosystem as new businesses are attracted to the
community.”
“Part of Governor Deval Patrick’s economic development strategy is making
Massachusetts a place where inventive, talented people from around the world
want to be, strengthening our connection to global centers of innovation,”
said Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Gregory
Bialecki. “The Fraunhofer Center’s decision to grow in Boston bolsters our
state’s already strong innovation ecosystem and cements our ties to the
pioneering work they are doing in Germany.”
Additionally, the Fraunhofer TechBridge Program, a lead recipient of a
United States Department of Energy Innovation Ecosystem Award, helps
entrepreneurs commercialize their technologies and develop their companies
to obtain follow-on funding, further contributing to job growth in the
region. Construction of the Fraunhofer CSE facility, which will leverage
public funds to catalyze private investment, is also expected to result in
at least 150 construction jobs.
To promote the success of 5 Channel Center building concept, Fraunhofer is
leveraging its experience and industrial partnerships from a similar
pre-existing successful project called Fraunhofer inHaus, a unique
innovation research collaboration between the German building material
industry, its practitioners and its construction companies. With over 100
partners and many more technical collaborators, the innovation laboratory is
dedicated to the development, demonstration and deployment of technologies
that focus on new, efficient ways to live.
*About Fraunhofer*
The *Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft* is the leading organization for applied
research in Europe. Its research activities are conducted by 60 Fraunhofer
Institutes located throughout Germany. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft employs a
staff of about 18,000 who work with an annual research budget of 1.65
billion euros.
*Fraunhofer USA, Inc.* is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fraunhofer with its
headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan. Fraunhofer USA, a
501(c)3 non-profit research organization, operates labs in sustainable
energy, biotechnology, computer security, manufacturing innovation, laser
technology, and industrial coatings. Fraunhofer USA’s research centers
collaborate with major research universities in the United States to bring
innovative technologies to the marketplace.
*Fraunhofer CSE* is an applied research laboratory engaged in collaborative
research and development with privately held companies, government entities,
academic institutions and researchers to promote new clean energy
technologies, including photovoltaic and building energy efficiency.
http://cse.fraunhofer.org/5channel/
*Media contacts:*
Frances Roland-Lee, Corporate Communications Manager, 734-354-4333,
froland@fraunhofer.org
Diana Pisciotta, Denterlein, (617) 482-0042, dpisciotta@denterlein.com