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Small Business in Amherst, Mass. Receives $70,000 for Environmental Innovation

Release Date: 03/23/2007
Contact Information: Paula Ballentine, 617-918-1027

(Boston, Mass. - March 23, 2007) - Using a $70,000 EPA contract, KSE, Inc. of Amherst, Mass. will establish the technical and economic feasibility of biodiesel production using glycerol, a by-product of present biodiesel production that is not widely used.

The company is one of 36 nationally to receive one of the EPA contracts, under the “Small Business Innovation Research” (SBIR) program. The purpose of the SBIR program is to strengthen the role of small businesses in federally funded research and development, and help develop a stronger national base for technical innovation. KSE Inc. is also one of five New England companies – four in Mass. and one in Conn. – selected for an SBIR contract this month.

“We are extremely pleased that we have been awarded a competitive contract by the EPA,” said Dr. J.R. Kittrell, President of KSE, Inc. “The money awarded will allow our program to utilize KSE's novel catalytic reaction chemistry to convert glycerol byproducts from the manufacture of bio-diesel into high-value energy products.”

The 22 million small businesses in the United States employ about 51 percent of the private work force and develop most of the country’s new technologies. Years ago, Congress recognized the need to strengthen the participation of small businesses in federally-funded research and development by passing a law creating the Small Business Innovation Research. An SBIR small business is defined as a for-profit organization with no more than 500 employees.

EPA solicits research proposals for SBIR grants each year. The next Phase I solicitation opens on March 15 and closes May 16, 2007.

More information: EPA’s SBIR program (epa.gov/ncer/sbir)

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