Florida Institute Funds Tallahassee-based Bing Energy International
Company to use seed funding to create a more commercially viable fuel cell
Gainesville and Boca Raton, FL – April 30, 2013 - The Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (the Institute) announced today that it has finalized a funding agreement with Bing Energy International, LLC. The company’s fuel cell innovations will lead to power generation that is lower in cost, more efficient and cleaner for the environment, while bringing increased stability to the electric grid.
The Institute works with Florida’s research universities and institutions to support new company creation and job growth, and the Seed Capital Accelerator Program bridges early funding gaps, enabling recipients to reach critical milestones and attract additional private investment capital.
“Based on patented technology developed at Florida State University by Dr. Jim P. Zheng. Bing is creating a more commercially viable fuel cell, said Dean Minardi, Bing CFO. “Building on the groundbreaking work of Dr. Ben Wang, inventor of buckypaper, Zheng has pioneered a fuel cell that incorporates a thin membrane composed of carbon nanotubes, reducing the need for expensive platinum that, until now, has made fuel cells too expensive to be widely marketed. This funding through the Institute’s Seed Capital Accelerator Program will enable Bing Energy to accelerate production of core fuel cell components at our manufacturing facility in Tallahassee.”
“This company is solving one of the most difficult challenges we face today – how to provide clean and efficient energy in a cost-effective, reliable manner,” said Jamie Grooms, Institute CEO. Our goal is to support companies at these early stages so they can achieve product commercialization and success, and deliver high-skill, high-wage jobs in the state of Florida.”
About the Institute
Formed by the Florida Legislature in 2007, the Institute for Commercialization of Public Research is a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with the technology licensing and commercialization offices of Florida’s state universities and private research institutions to leverage a $2B+ research base and form investable companies that create clean jobs in new industries that are driving the global economy. Over 100 new company projects have been identified across the state, and in 2011 the Institute began deploying a $10M Seed Capital Accelerator Program which provides “repayable upon liquidity” loans to qualifying companies who must match the funding with private investment capital. Fourteen companies have been funded since the program’s inception.
About Bing Energy International, LLC
Bing Energy has an exclusive commercialization agreement to use Florida State University professor Dr. Jim P. Zheng’s patented breakthrough nanotechnology to create a more commercially viable fuel cell. The buckypaper nanotechnology structure incorporates a thin layer composed of carbon nanotubes (buckypaper), enhancing strength and durability while reducing the need for expensive platinum catalyst. Bing Energy’s innovation in Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEA) will lead to fuel cells with lower cost and higher durability removing the main impediments to widespread adoption.
CONTACT:
Jane Teague
Chief Operating Officer
Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research
(561) 368-8889