SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Center of Excellence will be outfitted with new research and development laboratories after Syracuse University signed off yesterday on a $3 million state grant to support the project.
The Center of Excellence will be home to labs for the New York Energy Regional Innovation Cluster. The cluster is a statewide consortium of over 100 firms and institutions led by Syracuse University that aims to spark innovations to improve energy efficiency in buildings.
The new labs in the Center of Excellence will focus on research and development in fuel cells, combined heat and power systems, smart-grid applications, photovoltaic power generation, wind power generation, and battery storage. They are slated to work with DeWitt–based NuClimate Air Quality Systems, Inc., Pulaski–based Fulton Companies, and Syracuse–based Ephesus Technologies, LLC.
Outfitting the Center of Excellence with the labs will cost $8.7 million. The grant to Syracuse University, which is from the state’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative, is paying for the work, along with $5.7 million in federal and private funds.
“The Central New York region has a terrific cluster of firms and institutions that are developing innovations to improve energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality in buildings,” Center of Excellence Executive Director Edward Bogucz said in a news release. “Our new facilities are focused on opportunities to create jobs by helping local companies develop new products for buildings across the state and around the world.”
In addition to the labs, the renovations at the Center of Excellence will add a multimodal transportation facility handling bus, bike, pedestrian, and automobile traffic. The labs will fill space that is currently available at the Center of Excellence.
The project is the first phase of the New York Energy Regional Innovation Cluster, which carries a projected cost of $225 million over five years. Federal and private sources are slated to provide about $150 million of that cost, and New York state plans to provide the remaining $75 million.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com