admin – Page 31 – Swanson Reed | Specialist R&D Tax Advisors

Mazen Animal Health Secures $11M in Series A Funding

Mazen Animal Health, an Iowa-based startup, has secured $11 million in their Series A funding round, with investors such as AgFunder and Fall Line Capital.

Mazen is set on improving agricultural animal health by developing orally administered vaccines. These novel biological vaccines and therapeutics have the potential to disrupt the status quo of aghealth and address complex or unsolved challenges in animal health and protein production.

True to its name, Mazen’s technology uses plants, like maize, as molecular farms to produce the protein ingredients for its vaccines. This corn-based formulation is significantly cheaper than the typical precision fermentation process in expensive bioreactors. The cost-effectiveness of their process helps to combat the razor thin margins faced by farmers. With the vaccine being orally administered, it can also cut costs needed to effectively deliver the vaccine. Their formulation can be incorporated into animal feed and delivered as usual rather than individually injecting each animal.

The Series A funding round followed the company’s progress in combating Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV). This virus is deadly for newborn pigs and has been problematic for farmers since 2013. The funding will help support the efficacy studies of their PEDV vaccine to acquire approval by the USDA.

The funding will also help with plans to scale up their ability to manufacture the vaccine at commercial scale, while advancing a pipeline of other vaccines such as one for coccidiosis in poultry among others.

“Our investors are seeing the tremendous potential of the technology platform to deliver better vaccines more efficiently,” said Jennifer Filbey, CEO of the company. “In fact, the technology can help achieve better animal health through disease prevention – rather than treatment – and improve economics, stewardship, and sustainability.”

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Solid-State Battery Startup Natrion Secures $2M in Seed Funding

Illinois-based Natrion has announced the close of their first-ever seed funding round which successfully raised $2 million. The company is focused on the development of batteries that will better support mass market electric vehicles (EV), pushing their boundaries in terms of distance and power.

With growing global climate crises and climbing gas prices, it’s no surprise that there is also a growing demand for Evs. As this demand grows, so will the need for batteries to power them. This is where Natrion comes in.

The company has R&D facilities in New York and Illinois with semi-automated pouch cell production lines for the manufacture of prototype multi-layer pouch cells for use in EVs. These facilities are further set apart from others by the company’s specialized handling of lithium metal for the construction of lithium metal batteries.

Presently, EVs are limited by known fire safety risks and the high cost associated with prevailing lithium ion battery tech. But Natrion’s solid-state lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery chemistries are set to overcome these obstacles.

Natrion replaces plastic membranes with a Lithium Solid Ionic Composite (LISIC). The plastic membranes are soaked in highly volatile and flammable liquids which can create serious fire risks and also cause degradation of the chemical reactions. This degradation limits the battery performance and lifespan. LISIC, on the other hand, achieves the performance needed without any liquid and therefore has improved battery safety, performance, and durability.

This seed funding, along with a previously acquired $200,000 contract from the US Department of Defense will support the development of pouch cells to house the LISIC prototypes in full-size cells.

“Having the backing of investors of this caliber has positioned us well to continue to lead the pack and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Over the years we’ve assembled a stellar core research and development team that will now have all the necessary resources to make Natrion’s vision a reality,” Alex Kosyakov, CEO and co-founder of Natrion, said in a statement.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Sortile Wins Circularity 22 Accelerate Competition to Improve Fashion Sustainability

Sortile has been announced as the winner for GreenBiz Group’s Circularity 22 Accelerate competition after taking the stage by storm with their captivating fast pitch. Four startups from across the circular economy landscape competed for the prize, pitching their ideas to two industry experts – Francesca Whitehead, investor at G2VP, and April Crow, vice president at Circulate Capital.

The textile waste management technology company is focused on creating a more robust, circular fashion industry. The rise of fast fashion and microtrends have led to approximately 92 million tons of global textile wastes created every year.

Sortile removes key barriers for textile recycling including the difficult sorting process and lack of data. With these barriers removed, brands are more likely to follow through on their sustainability commitments.

“I started my professional career doing research on Latin American retailers,” Sortile’s CEO Constanza Gomez, who grew up in Chile, told GreenBiz. “I was able to have a clear view of the amount of waste that was created in the industry. It quickly became a sort of obsession to understand why textiles were not recycled.”

The co-founders pitched their device which sorts clothing by fiber composition quickly and efficiently using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). This technology is traditionally used to image and monitor blood oxygen levels in brains, muscles, and tissue for the detection of injury and disease. However, Sortile has found they can apply the technology to optimize textile recycling. When combined with Sortile’s proprietary machine learning algorithms, NIRS is able to scan apparel and identify fiber compositions with 95% accuracy.

This reduces the labor needed to properly process and sort textiles and cuts the time needed in half. It also provides valuable data for B2B customers and improves transparency. Companies that collect clothes (returns or donations) can sell them back to fiber recyclers – saving on disposal costs, diverting material from landfills and helping meet sustainability goals.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

IperionX Partners with UTIA to Explore Sustainable Agriculture

IperionX, Ltd has announced a partnership with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) to research the implementation of sustainable operating and rehabilitation practices at the Titan Critical Mineral Project in West Tennessee.

The Titan Critical Mineral Project includes programs focused on post mineral extraction practices and carbon sequestration opportunities.

This partnership will first focus on the elimination of invasive vegetation in order to improve the ecological revegetation. This will be achieved using native warm season grasses. Following this initial step, the company will establish a 10-acre demonstration site at the Titan Project which will be used by UTIA for further sustainability investigations. The partners have biochars, gypsum, and other soil amendments on their mind as they strive to develop solutions to increase crop yields and carbon sequestration.

Anastasios (Taso) Arima, CEO and Managing Director said, “This partnership with the University of Tennessee is a vital part of IperionX’s mission of sustainably re-shoring critical minerals in the U.S. and leaving behind a positive legacy with the communities and land in West Tennessee.”

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

XONA Systems Secured $7.2M in Series A Funding

Georgia Patent of the Month - January 2022

Maryland-based XONA Systems has closed their successful Series A funding with $7.2 million in funding. This funding will be directed towards building out the company’s sales and marketing team as well as an investment in product development. These two moves will position the company for an international expansion.

The startup developed a secure platform for businesses to use digital tools to control physical infrastructures including oil rigs and wind turbines. The company saw the need for remote and secure access to operational technology and built a platform that would meet these needs.

“Being able to access operational technology and other critical systems at any time, and from anywhere is becoming a necessity. Hybrid work is convenient, cost effective and plays a role in recruitment and retention – but for critical infrastructure, it’s all that and way more,” said Bill Moore, founder and CEO at XONA. “There are countless reasons professionals running oil rigs in the middle of the ocean, manufacturing plants meeting high demand, water treatment facilities serving large populations and other critical facilities need 24/7 access. But providing that access has traditionally been complex and fraught with security issues – that’s why we built XONA.”

Technology agnostic and configured in minutes, XONA’s proprietary protocol isolation and zero-trust architecture immediately eliminates common attack vectors, while giving authorized users seamless and secure control of operational technology from any location or device. With integrated multi-factor authentication, user-to-asset access controls, user session analytics, and automatic video recording, XONA is the single, secure portal that connects the cyber-physical world and enables critical operations to happen from anywhere with total confidence and trust.

They intend for this expanded global presence to reach more than 25 countries which will further enhance their secure reach. As a result of the funding, Mike Janke, managing director at DataTribe Opportunities Fund, has joined the company’s board of directors. In addition, Jeff Williams, former chief revenue officer at FireEye, has joined as an independent board member.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Eden Awarded $3.8M from DOE’s ARPA-E for Geothermal Stimulation Technology

Microbeam Technologies Awarded $250K in Funding

Eden GeoPower Inc. (Eden) has been selected to receive $3.79 million in federal funding from the US Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). This funding will be directed towards their “Electro-Hydraulic Fracturing of Enhanced Geothermal Systems” project. In addition to this funding, the company will receive support from world-class researchers from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Eden was founded with the intention of developing scalable, sustainable extraction of Earth’s geothermal heat and natural resources. To meet these goals, the company is developing a first-of-its-kind Electrical Reservoir Stimulation technology which offers a safer, more effective, and more efficient method of recovering these natural resources. Once developed and implemented, this has implications for a carbon-free future.

Their Electro-Hydraulic Fracturing of Enhanced Geothermal Systems aims to make a novel electromagnetic reservoir stimulation technology. This stimulation will increase the subsurface permeability in Enhanced Geothermal Systems, allowing fracturing and natural resource extraction with reduced environmental impacts. Traditional hydraulic fracturing techniques create extreme pressure and temperature conditions within the fractured hole and limit the stimulation of geothermal reservoirs.

“We are developing a radically different approach to reservoir stimulation, which utilizes high-voltage electricity as the main mechanism to increase reservoir permeability. This technology complements recent innovations in geothermal reservoir drilling, since drilled wells will need to be successfully stimulated to achieve maximum net power output per well,” described Eden Co-founder and CEO Paris Smalls.

Since its founding in 2009, ARPA-E has provided $2.93 billion in R&D funding, and ARPA-E projects have attracted more than $7.6 billion in private sector follow-on funding to commercialize clean energy technologies and create sustainable clean energy jobs. In 2019, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) received funding under the ARPA-E awards for the development of a revolutionary high-rate drilling system using electric pulses to drill high-temperature geothermal wells.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Botanical Solution Inc Win Best Biotech Startup for 2022

Hawaii Patent of the Month - November 2021

Botanical Solution Inc. (BSI) has been awarded the “Best Biotech Startup Business of the Year 2022” from the World BioProtection Forum and was selected finalist for two additional categories. This Award was presented to BSI Senior Vice President Latin America Diego Ibañez who also was one of the distinguished speakers at the main event, held on May 23 in Birmingham, UK.

BSI is a startup focused on innovating sustainable, consistent, and cost-effective Advanced Botanical Materials (ABM) for agricultural and pharmaceutical applications. The award was won based on the company’s discovery and development of its new biofungicide Quillibrium ® for fruit and vegetable growers worldwide.

This biofungicide is extracted from Quillaja saponaria, a tree native to Chile, and is capable of providing protection across a wide variety of fruits and vegetables against a broad spectrum of plant diseases. To comply with Chilean deforestation laws, the company developed a method of growing these trees within their laboratories and extracting the biofungicide in vitro.

This method is inline with the company’s proprietary R&D platform which innovates truly sustainable production methods for consistent and high quality ABM. The company was also a finalist for the “Most Innovative Research Project” and the “Best Collaboration of the Year” for its strong partnership with Syngenta in Latin America.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

8 Rivers Capital, LLC has Been Awarded $1.8M in Funding to Support their Hydrogen Production Plant

8 Rivers Capital, LLC has been awarded $1,802,863 in funding to support their pre-front-end engineering design study for a new hydrogen production plant equipped with 8RH2 technology. The funding comes from two sources, with the Department of Energy (DOE) providing $1,412,863 of the funding.

The hydrogen production plant will cost-effectively produce 100 million standard cubic feet per day of 99.97% pure hydrogen and capture 90-99% of carbon dioxide emissions. This study is set to evaluate three design cases implementing varying processes of the 8RH2 equipment and a CO2 separation unit. The captured CO2 (~600,000 tonnes/year) will be transported and stored at Painter Reservoir Gas Complex in Evanston, Wyoming, and the hydrogen product will be converted to ammonia for rail export to California. The project will deliver a detailed engineering package, including a levelized cost of hydrogen for the three design cases.

8 Rivers Capital has committed themselves to building Net Zero 2050, which means they are building the technology to support companies as they strive to meet their net-zero goals. Their 8RH2 process generates clean hydrogen with full carbon capture and at less cost than any other existing hydrogen production technology.

8 Rivers Capital is not the only company to receive funding from the DOE this round. The DOE has awarded a total of $24.9M to 6 projects focused on advancing hydrogen technologies for electricity generation. The remaining 5 projects include:

Investigation of Ammonia Combustion for Turbines (IACT) by the Gas Technology Institute
Advanced Mixed Mode Combustors for Hydrogen F-Class Retrofit by the General Electric Company
Demonstration of a Gas Turbine-Scale RDC Integrated with Compressor and Turbine Components at 7FA Cycle Conditions by the General Electric Company
Development of Hydrogen Burner for FT4000 Aeroderivative Engine by Raytheon Technologies Research Center
Low-NOx, Operable Ammonia Combustor Development for Zero-Carbon Power (LOAD-Z) by Raytheon Technologies Research Center.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

UbiQD Growing Drastically in Response to New Collaborations

Ubiquitous Quantum Dots (UbiQD) is a New Mexico-based company focused on the development and manufacturing of quantum dots to support companies in their R&D efforts. This advanced materials company contributes to product innovations in agriculture, clean energy, and security industries.

The quantum dots are made of materials capable of unlocking low-waste, high-efficiency solutions. For size reference, these nanoscale structures measure about 10,000 times smaller than a human hair.

These efforts are paying off as the company will soon be powering up commercial buildings, boosting greenhouse production and, eventually, feeding astronauts on the moon.

These leaps and bounds will be achieved as the company turns their nanoscale, 3D structures into sunlight-harvesting machines to make solar-generating windows, plastic row covers that accelerate greenhouse plant growth and a new type of security ink to protect official documents against counterfeiting.

Some new collaborations with two large industry partners have poised the company to scale up their production, further supporting their existing real-world applications and their growth. The first collaboration, with Heliene Inc., will integrate UbiQD’s quantum-dot film into their solar panels for greenhouses.

The second collaboration, with SWM International, will directly incorporate the quantum dots into SWM’s plastic sheets as a drop-in product for the manufacture of solar-generating windows.

To date, UbiQD has raised more than $14 million in private equity and grant funding to pursue different market applications for its quantum dots. It currently employs 26 people full time, 24 of them at its headquarters in Los Alamos.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Entegris has Opened their New Life Sciences Technology Center

Entegris has announced the opening of their new Life Sciences Technology Center in Billerica, Massachusetts.

This new facility will provide life science customers with the opportunity to leverage Entegris’ cold-chain supply expertise and increase the speed to market for their clinical products. The center will provide the space needed to bring tools and technologies together to support the testing of freezing and thawing processes.

Entegris works with leading manufacturers to support and enable advancements in technology. This includes strategically placed manufacturing sites, R&D facilities, and customer support centers. The new facility serves to bridge a gap in their network and further support development efforts.

Entegris’ products and solutions include:

Filtration products that purify gasses, fluids, and the ambient fab environment
Liquid systems and components that dispense, control, analyze, or transport process fluids
Gas delivery systems that safely store and deliver toxic gasses
Specialty chemistries for deposition and cleaning at advanced nodes
Wafer carriers and shippers that protect semiconductor wafers from contamination and breakage
Specialty coatings that provide high-purity surfaces for wear-resistance, corrosion protection, and smoothness
Premium graphite and silicon carbide for high-performance applications
Shippers and trays for protecting and transporting disk drive components

With the newly offered Aramus-shaped 2D single-use bags, customers can customize shapes, sizes, and assembly configurations to better suit their available space and function requirements. This provides a more robust solution to match any customer’s manufacturing requirements. They have been designed to be resistant to extreme cold temperatures and to withstand gamma sterilization, making them an option for freezing, transporting, storing and thawing drug substances like COVID-19 vaccines, cell therapies and gene therapies.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.