(Morrisville, N.C.) A Morrisville research and technology development company has been awarded one of the first grants from the North Carolina Green Business Fund to pursue research in bio-fuel production. Innovatech, Inc. (ITI) received the grant to research ways to develop methods to economically harvest algae for bio-fuel production. The award was announced by North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue at a news conference at the Innovatech offices. At the ceremony, Governor Perdue also officially signed the state’s new energy bill into law.

Innovatech has developed a new technology that can greatly improve the harvesting of algae, making the process more economical and practical as a source of bio-fuel. Compared to conventional methods, the Innovatech process is compact, continuous, and offers 100 times greater concentration efficiency while using 11 times less energy.

“The technology we have developed at Innovatech will make it much more practical to turn to harvesting algae as a source for bio-fuels,” said Steven Crouch, president of Innovatech and its subsidiary, Solara Automation. “This grant from the North Carolina Green Fund will enable us to continue to perfect this process and to accelerate the development of a commercial-scale harvesting system.”

The North Carolina Green Business Fund provides competitive grants to encourage North Carolina small businesses to develop commercial innovations and applications in the bio-fuels industry and the green building industry, and in attracting and leveraging private sector investments and entrepreneurial growth in environmentally conscious technologies and renewal energy products and business.

Innovatech was founded in 1990 by Steven Crouch and Dr. Steve Wright as a technology R&D firm, primarily focused on new processes for fine particle separation and filtration. Innovatech specializes in dynamic, self-cleaning filtration solutions. The company’s patented technology does not use media filters that clog and require replacement, and can be adapted to provide clean air/fluid, remove and capture entrained particulates, or to classify fine particles by size or shape. In response to growth opportunities for industrial automation, the company formed Solara Automation. Solara designs and builds industrial machinery, incorporating new products/processes to drive competitive manufacturing. Solara is currently building prototype processes and advanced manufacturing systems for customers in medical device, automotive, energy and defense. For more information, visit www.solaraautomation.com.