Washington state’s Department of Commerce has awarded four $500,000 grants to public-private organizations building new “innovation” clusters in the state. The funding for the “Innovation Cluster Accelerator” program is provided through $15 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce, as part of the giant CARES economic stimulus act in 2020. The new awards build on funding for five other organizations announced in January and support a variety of industries. Here are the four organizations getting new funding, with descriptions from the Dept. of Commerce:
- Evergreen Bioscience, led by Greater Spokane, Inc. — working to make the Intermountain Northwest and Washington State a magnet for companies providing and consuming expert life and health science contract research, development, and manufacturing services of medicines and medical devices by enhancing workforce development and services to pharmaceutical and medical devices companies.
- Pacific Northwest Aerospace Cluster, led by Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance – advancing Pacific Northwest aerospace manufacturing competitiveness through technology innovation, sustainable manufacturing, supply chain mapping, workforce development and marketing.
- Sustainable Aerospace Technologies and Energies (SATE) Cluster, led by Aerospace Futures Alliance (AFA) – advancing aviation’s global fight against climate change by leading the research, development and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels, electrified aircraft and hydrogen-powered aviation.
- Washington Autonomous Vehicle Cluster (WAV-C), led by the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance – accelerating the advancement of unpiloted and autonomous vehicles, with an initial focus on the growing need for waterborne craft.
