Apr 15 2010
Redwood Systems today announced that it has been awarded a Department of Energy (DOE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant.
A portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are funneled through the SBIR program to support small business innovation research, development, and deployment of clean energy technologies. Redwood was selected as one of only six companies to receive funding for light emitting diode (LED) technology, enabling the company to further develop its energy efficient lighting system for commercial buildings.
“We are honored to be amongst such an elite group of companies to be awarded this grant,” said Mark Covaro, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Redwood Systems and Principal Investigator of this research grant. “The Department of Energy has done an exceptional job driving both new, pioneering research and development in LED technology, as well as funding innovations to bring these technologies through to market readiness. Support from the DOE will allow us to enhance the design of our commercial building lighting platforms that promise to significantly lower energy costs.”
The SBIR grants support scientific excellence and technological innovation. The program will assist in the development and commercialization of Redwood’s technology, the world’s first integrated power, control and communications platform for commercial lighting. Utilization of Redwood’s technology, which combines both two-way communications and sensors for motion, temperature and light level sensors at every fixture, offers the potential to save 50 to 75 percent of the energy used to light a commercial building.
As a recipient of the SBIR Phase I grant, Redwood will have the opportunity to further develop this systems architecture by applying for Phase II funding expected later this year.