EPA Funds Melbourne Firm’s Electric Efficiency Project
By Space Coast Daily // November 27, 2012
Innovative Small Business
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA –ThornProducts of Melbourne has been awarded $80,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Small Business Innovation Research program to develop a low cost wireless transmission method for monitoring electricity usage in receptacles and switches.
It ultimately will allow users to identify efficiency improvements in their electricity usage.
The program is part of EPA’s Technology Innovation for Environmental and Economic Progress: An EPA Roadmap, which focuses on linking research and development, policy and finance.
It supports the development of new technologies for small businesses in addressing key environmental areas.
Concepts
The technological concepts submitted to this year’s competition include drinking water monitoring and treatment, sustainable infrastructures, green building, innovation in manufacturing, greenhouse gas reduction, air pollution monitoring and control and waste monitoring and management.
Nationally the program awarded $2 million in contracts to 25 companies to compose Phase I of this year’s annual competition.
Winners will compete for Phase II funding to commercialize their technologies, helping to protect Americans’ health and the environment.
To be eligible to participate in the program, a company must be an organized, for-profit U.S. business and have fewer than 500 employees.
Phase I awards may be up to $80,000, and Phase II awards may be up to $300,000.
TRDA acceptance
ThrornProducts was accepted into Florida’s Technology Research and Development Authority high tech business incubator in early 2010.
Founder Dave Thorn has more than 30 years of experience and has been through several successful startup telecommunication companies at the Director, VP and CEO levels.
His successes have included multiple developments of large SW/HW telecom systems deployed worldwide along with operations of worldwide telecom special service systems.
The company is headquartered at 1050 W. NASA Blvd, Suite 103 in Melbourne.
