Lab Wins Award from the New Mexico Technology Council
LANL’s Community Programs Office and Technology Transfer Division recently won the New Mexico Technology Council’s 5th Annual TechEx Award, the Marc Orchant Maximum Impact Achievement Award. The award is reserved for individuals and organizations that have the greatest overall, long-term impact on the New Mexico technology community.
Said Jeff Lunsford, president of the New Mexico Technology Council (NMTC), “While few laboratories in the nation think about economic development, LANL is implementing a technology cluster, which it developed last year, is sponsoring technology networking and education events, and is reaching out to companies and entrepreneurs with Northern New Mexico Connect.”
Northern New Mexico Connect, since its inception in 2006, has served nearly 100 entrepreneurs who have also attracted $5.4 million in new funding. Its purpose is to nurture local businesses to new levels of success through coaching, networking, market research, technical assistance, and investment activities.
For more information on Northern New Mexico Connect, go to http://www.nnmconnect.net/. For more information on NMTC, go to http://www.nmtechcouncil.org/.
LANL Wins Two Technology Transfer Awards
One goal of the country’s national laboratories is to transition scientific breakthroughs into the public sector to enhance the United States' economic stability and growth. To assist in that mission, the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) supports technology transfer within its member federal laboratories, centers, and parent departments and agencies. In recognition of its efforts in this area, LANL recently received two of the FLC’s Excellence in Technology Transfer Awards. This year’s winners included:
ENDURE™SCR catalyst system design
The catalyst system mitigates environmentally problematic forms of nitrogen oxide (NOx), compounds inherent in exhaust systems from diesel engines and other combustion processes found in many factory operations. In 2008, the Lab signed an agreement with Santa Fe-based CleanAIR Systems Inc. for an exclusive patent license for the technology. CleanAIR is developing the technology for applications in stationary engines, pipeline compressors, on- and off-road equipment, and gas turbines. Caterpillar Corporation recently installed the new system on seven of its diesel generators operating on drill rigs in Wyoming.
Hyperion Power Module
The Hyperion Power Module (HPM) is the world’s first small mobile nuclear power reactor. Using low-enriched uranium fuel, the unit meets all the non-proliferation criteria of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. Each HPM unit will produce 70 megawatts, enough to provide electricity for 20,000 average-sized American homes. The technology was licensed exclusively to Hyperion Power Generation, Inc. More than a hundred letters of interest to purchase have been received for the reactors, which can be used in remote locations for five to seven years.
For more information on the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer, go to http://www.federallabs.org/home/. For more information on the Lab’s Technology Transfer efforts, go to http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/tt/index.shtml.