(Photo by Noah Coffey on Flickr)
Governor Ed Rendell (D-PA) announced the grant recipients for the Pennsylvania Alternative Fuel Incentives Grant (PAFIG) on January 29, 2009. PAFIG is a fund designed to encourage a homegrown green economy from school projects, existing businesses and individuals. The biggest recipient of PAFIG’s $6.5 million grant was Ettline Foods, which received $812,610 to convert two collection trucks to run completely on vegetable oil. Ettline Foods will use the money to create separate collection tanks for both trucks that will store waste oil that can save up to 700,000 gallons of fuel in two heavily-used trucks.
PAFIG rewarded several initiatives that could yield new technology to create fuel-efficient cars and trucks. Axion Power International Inc. received $800,000 in grant money to demonstrate its PbC battery technology in various EV, PHEV and HEV prototypes. The company’s PbC batteries already offer longer ranges, lighter frames and faster recharging than lead-acid batteries already on the market. The demonstration program will help Axion and its automotive partners collaborate on implementing this technology into cleaner vehicles available to Pennsylvania residents.
The grant program also rewarded Temple University ($255,443), Philadelphia Academics Inc. ($296,650) and Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities ($166,695) for innovative methods of creating cleaner transportation. Temple University plans to use this money to research and develop a hybrid electric vehicle that can compete with traditional vehicles in terms of commuting range. Philadelphia Academics Inc. will provide the money to the Philadelphia High School Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering to participate in the Automotive X Prize competition. Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities, a non-profit dedicated to a green transportation infrastructure, will use its grant to create storage and refueling structures for biofuel vehicles.
Pennsylvania’s grant program is a positive sign for green transportation technology, standing in direct opposition to the belt tightening popular among other states. The amount of PAFIG’s grants is a drop in the bucket compared to entitlement programs and other permanent fixtures in state budgets but it will make a big difference. Axion’s demonstration program will drive up demand for its long-lasting batteries and Ettline Foods will be able to deliver some of its products without using fossil fuels. PAFIG’s funds to Temple, Philadelphia Academics Inc. and other recipients will promote the next generation of technology while other grant recipients implement the clean fuel equipment of today.
