The Prima Civitas Foundation, in partnership with Michigan State University, Lakeshore Advantage Corporation, New North Center of Design in Business, has received one of only six national U.S. Economic Development Administration
i6 Green “Proof of Concept Center” awards.
With the help of matching funds from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, entrepreneurs and businesses will have the opportunity to apply and receive business support and chemical production scale-up services available at the MSU Bioeconomy Institute in Holland, Mich.
Business Support services offered through i6 Green include:
- Business planning
- Market assessment assistance
- Grant-writing aid -- e.g., for SBIR, STTR, and seed fund grant proposals
- Aesthetics and human factors / industrial design consulting and training
- Referrals to the investor community
- Chemical scale-up production in the Institute's 25,000+ L reactor suite
The i6 Green initiative also seeks to address facets of green technology that are frequently overlooked, to their eventual commercial detriment.
Prima Civitas will provide SBIR and STTR grant writing support as well as connect approved entrepreneurs and businesses with potential venture capital opportunities.
A broad spectrum of "green" technologies will be advanced by the project, including those using bio-based starting materials, those using less energy or having less environmental impact, those creating environmentally useful or benign end products, and those enabling enhanced recycling of products and wastes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing support for water purification considerations within the project.
For more information about the services provided by the i6 Green services and how to apply to the program, please visit http://bioeconinst.msu.edu or call Randy Olinger, director of the BioVenture Accelerator for Lakeshore Advantage at (616) 395-8974.
For more information about Prima Civitas' role in the i6 Green program, please contact:
Click here to download a copy of the i6 Concept Center Info Sheet