RICHLAND, WA - InnovaTek, Inc., a Tri-Cities-based advanced technology company, has been awarded two contracts from the Department of Energy (DOE) for the development of energy conversion technologies. The awards were made under DOE's Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and Small Business Innovation Programs.
One contract will support the development of an efficient process for converting methane from either natural gas or biomass sources to usable industrial feedstocks. The other contract is for the development of a catalytic fuel reformer that reforms methanol to provide clean hydrogen for a fuel cell from renewable biomass energy sources. The company will use its proprietary advanced separations technology coupled with micro-chemical processing technology to develop prototype devices for feasibility studies.
Benefits of these advanced energy processing technologies include reduced pollution from climate-changing gases and increased energy efficiency. Such technology will help reduce environmental impacts from global warming and lower the consumption of non-renewable energy supplies.
"These contracts will help us develop further our proprietary technology for specific commercial applications, such as point-of-use production of industrial feedstocks", says Patricia Irving, InnovaTek President. InnovaTek creates and commercializes products for health, safety and energy applications.