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Kentucky
Cabinet for Economic Development
Old Capitol
Annex
300 West
Broadway
Frankfort,
KY 40601
502-564-7670
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Kentucky Sets
its Sights on Domestic Battery Industry
Underscoring his commitment to positioning the Commonwealth as the center of
the nation's automotive industry of the future, Gov. Steve Beshear recently
announced two major developments that will help propel Kentucky into the
national spotlight.
The first is a partnership between the state, the University of Kentucky (UK),
the University of Louisville (U of L) and Argonne National Laboratory to
establish a national Battery Manufacturing Research and Development Center in
Lexington.
The laboratory will help develop and deploy a domestic supply of advanced
battery technologies for vehicle applications that will aid in securing U.S.
energy independence, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help strengthen the
economy.
"The Kentucky-Argonne partnership will help in turning the tide on U.S. battery
development and support President Obama's goal to have one million Plug-in
Hybrid Electric Vehicles on the road by 2015," Argonne Director Robert Rosner
said. "It will help to bridge the gap between research and
commercialization by facilitating the development and deployment of advanced
manufacturing processes for lithium-ion and other advanced batteries."
Kentucky's history in the auto industry and related workforce
played a significant role in the attraction of such a facility.
Additionally, the region is within 500 miles of more than 4,800 auto-related
vehicle manufacturers, including 69 vehicle assembly plants.
Less than a week following the Argonne partnership announcement, Gov.
Beshear joined officials from the National Alliance for
Advanced Transportation Batteries (NAATBatt) to announce the selection of
a 1,551-acre site in Glendale, Ky., as the home for its proposed
manufacturing and headquarters complex.
NAATBatt is a not-for-profit industry consortium of more
than 50 corporations, associations and research institutions dedicated to
making the U.S. a world leader in the manufacture of advanced lithium-ion or
Li-Ion battery cells for transportation applications.
The alliance chose Kentucky in a fierce competition over seven other
states. The consortium will submit a proposal to the U.S.
Department of Energy by May 19, 2009, seeking federal stimulus dollars set
aside by the Obama administration for electric drive vehicle battery and
component manufacturing projects.
If successful in securing the federal money, NAATBatt would establish a
manufacturing campus consisting of a headquarters facility, a manufacturing
facility used to refine products and production processes, and a larger
operation designed for mass battery manufacturing.
The one-of-a-kind manufacturing operation could create as many as 2,000
new full-time jobs and a capital investment in excess of $600
million. An additional 1,500 construction jobs would also be
created for a period of 12 to 18 months.
"These developments are further evidence of the strong momentum we're building
here in Kentucky as we position ourselves to be a leader in this national
inititative," Gov. Beshear said. "There is a tremendous opportunity to make
Kentucky the battery technology capital of the U.S., bringing an infusion of
'green' jobs to the state. I plan to pursue every avenue to seize
this opportunity."
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Cabinet Awards
$100,000 in Prize Money to State University Students in Business Plan
Competition
 In the second
annual statewide business plan competition held by the Kentucky Cabinet for
Economic Development, 17 teams of university students earned a combined
$100,000 in prizes and awards for developing concepts and plans for new
business ventures.
The awards were announced after an intense two-day student competition, called
"Idea State U," held March 27-28, 2009, at the Lexington Convention Center. The
competition is designed to help identify and support the next generation of
Kentucky innovators and entrepreneurs.
Over 60 students, consisting of four teams of graduate students and 13 teams of
undergraduates, from seven of Kentucky's public universities participated.
"This student competition is helping create a new generation of entrepreneurs
and innovators that will expand our base of business and provide more jobs
statewide," said Gov. Steve Beshear. "The evaluations and feedback
provided by the business experts who judged the event will be invaluable to the
students as they move forward in developing these and other ventures."
Student entries described proposed ventures for a variety of products and
services, including software that helps doctors diagnose lung cancer three to
six months earlier than is typical today, an audio navigation device to assist
the blind and vision impaired to navigate through unfamiliar
environments and many other innovative ideas.
The top cash award - $43,247.18 - was presented to PackStream, a team
consisting of University of Louisville graduate students, for a business plan
to produce personalized and highly targeted marketing and advertising messages
on retailers' shipping packages. Other winners included the following proposed
ventures:
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$21,447.37 for a student business plan to develop a "fast casual" restaurant
format serving fresh Indian food, created by a graduate student team from the
University of Kentucky;
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$12,007.52 for a business plan to manufacture low-cost solar thermal hot water
collectors for commercial and industrial applications, created by an
undergraduate student team from Northern Kentucky University;
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$5,753.29 for a business concept based on software developed by a University of
Louisville researcher that can enable doctors to diagnose lung cancer up to
three to six months sooner than conventional methods, created by a graduate
student team from the University of Louisville;
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$5,361.84 for a business plan to supply baitfish to retailers throughout
Kentucky and to produce alternative aquaculture products, created by an
undergraduate student team from Eastern Kentucky University;
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$2,465.70 for a business concept to develop high-altitude wind energy
production systems, created by an undergraduate student team from the
University of Kentucky;
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$2,144.74 for a business concept to develop a special edition of the Monopoly
board game that features Kentucky attractions and would be sold at gift shops
statewide, created by an undergraduate student team from Kentucky State
University; and
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$1,072.37 for a business concept to develop a web portal and database linking
residential and commercial property owners to suppliers of energy-saving
products, created by an undergraduate student team from the University of
Louisville.
In addition, the Governor's Innovation Award was presented to Western Kentucky
University's Austin Schroll for his business concept to develop an easy-to-use
and affordable audio navigation device for the blind and vision impaired.
With $100,000 in combined cash prizes and awards, Kentucky's Idea State U is
one of the nation's top state-sponsored business plan competitions. More
information is available at www.IdeaStateU.com.
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Purchase Region
Industrial Park Certified as Megasite by McCallum Sweeney Consulting
Paducah's
Purchase Region Industrial Park (PRP) celebrates a milestone as McCallum
Sweeney Consulting (MSC), one of the nation's premiere site-selection firms,
certifies the Park as a "Megasite."
"Achieving certification is no small feat," said Ed McCallum, senior principal
with MSC. "This site will now be very easy to market to prospective industries.
You won't have to spend valuable time going through site due diligence. This
certification enables you to close the deal much more quickly."
In addition to meeting basic requirements such as a minimum size of 1,000
acres, rail service, and control of the property, the PRP had to respond
to a rigorous battery of information-gathering by MSC. "We had to satisfy that
all zoning, right-of-way, easement, wetland, flood plain, geotechnical,
environmental, ownership, access to utilities and availability of workforce
issues were solved," said Bill Beasley, president and CEO of the Regional
Industrial Park.
"Essentially this stamp of approval sends the message to those looking for
large-acre sites that we are project ready," said Tony Goodman, chair of the
PRP Board of Directors. "It lets companies know that they can get started on
their project right away. By going through this process, we have saved
potential companies anxiety, time, and money - making their location
decision easier."
As part of the certification, MSC provided suggestions for target industries
that are a fit with the PRP. "In addition to automotive-related industries, the
data shows that primary metal and fabricated metal production, alternative
energy equipment manufacturing, and chemical/advanced materials would be
well-suited for the site and workforce," said Jeannette Goldsmith, principal at
MSC.
Located in Graves County, Kentucky, on U.S. 45, eight miles from the Purchase
Parkway and 10 miles from Interstate 24, the PRP is also served by five
Class I railroads boasting excellent transportation access via rail or road.
Within a 70-mile radius there are approximately 430,000 in the workforce. The
park is owned by an 8-county board with a representative from each county in
the Purchase Area.
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Cabinet Awards
$100,000 in Matching Funds to Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals
Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., has been awarded $100,000
from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development's SBIR-STTR Matching Funds
Program aimed at supporting the Commonwealth's high-tech companies.
The program is the first in the United States to specifically match both Phase
1 and Phase 2 federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small
Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants.
To date, the program has made 64 awards to 42 high-tech companies
in the state for over $14 million and has resulted in several firms relocating
to Kentucky, including Transposagen, which moved from Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania (www.transposagenbio.com).
Transposagen, now based in Lexington, is a leader in the development of unique
rat models that can mimic human diseases and are used for drug discovery and
development research. The production of animal models is a $1.2 billion annual
market.
Transposagen, which had previously received $1 million in Kentucky matching
funds for an earlier National Institutes of Health (NIH) award, has already
created six new high-paying jobs in Kentucky and will be hiring additional
employees this year.
"The federal award to Transposagen for its cutting edge research proves that
our SBIR-STTR Matching Funds Program, which helped bring the company to
Kentucky, is attracting some of the world's foremost science and technology
firms," said Larry Hayes, interim secretary for the Cabinet for Economic
Development.
Kentucky will match up to $100,000 for SBIR-STTR Phase 1 federal awards and up
to $500,000 for federal Phase 2 awards. The opportunity for recipients of Phase
1 and Phase 2 federal SBIR and STTR awards to earn additional funds from
Kentucky has drawn interest from high-tech firms nationwide.
"We appreciate the continued support that the NIH and Cabinet have shown our
company," said Transposagen CEO Dr. Eric Ostertag. "The availability of
matching funds in Kentucky has enabled us to continue our research and more
than double the number of models we offer. We can now provide researchers with
models that mimic such human diseases as Lupus and other autoimmune diseases,
esophageal carcinoma, rheumatoid arthritis, leukemia, Alzheimer's Disease, and
colorectal tumors."
A new solicitation period for SBIR-STTR matching funds is expected to begin
this summer. For more information, visit www.ThinkKentucky.com/dci.
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| UPCOMING
EVENTS |
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April 30, 2009, Small Business & Entrepreneurial Forum, Barbourville, KY
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