Two Maryland Energy Innovation Institute (MEI²) energy seed grant recipients recently received Build Our Future grants from the Maryland Department of Commerce. The Build Our Future Grant Pilot Program is part of the Governor’s Innovation Economy Infrastructure Act of 2023 and provides grants of up to $2 million to private companies, nonprofit entities, local governments, as well as colleges and universities. Eligible industry sectors include advanced manufacturing, aerospace, agriculture, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blue technology, cybersecurity, defense, energy and sustainability, life sciences, quantum, and sensors and robotics. In FY25 $7.0 million was awarded to transformative projects that accelerate the growth of the state’s strategic industry sectors.

HighT-Tech received $1,000,000 for construction of a pilot manufacturing infrastructure to commercialize a novel, electrified, rapid high-temperature manufacturing process to disrupt the production of clean-tech material, including advanced batteries and hydrogen electrolyzers. The company is a spinoff from the University of Maryland, College Park and Johns Hopkins University. 

HighT-Tech is a 2025 Energy Seed Grant recipient with University of Maryland (UMD) lead scientist, Dr. Yunhui Gong, Materials Science and Engineering. The company is also an alumnus of the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator (MEIA) program. MEIA's mission is to create investible clean energy businesses. An investible business has the momentum and credibility to obtain third party investment to grow its operations and launch/grow its business

Liatris received $800,000 to construct a prototyping facility for next-generation thermal insulation materials in clean room space adjacent to existing headquarters. Validation of the technology would lead to an investment in larger-scale mass production.

In conjunction with UMD Assistant Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE), Dr. Po-Yen Chen, Liatris received a 2022 Energy Seed Grant for their project Machine Learning-Accelerated Development of Non-Flammable Silica Aerogels for Building Thermal Insulation.

Last year, two other MEI² spinoff companies, Ion Storage Systems and InventWood, received Build Our Future grants.

More information on these awards can be found at:

• https://commerce.maryland.gov/media/governor-moore-announces-6-million-in-build-our-future-grant-awards-to-support-innovation-infrastructure-development\
• https://business.maryland.gov/news/liatris-celebrates-new-montgomery-county-manufacturing-facility/
• https://governor.maryland.gov/news/press/pages/governor-moore-liatris-celebrate-ribbon-cutting-expanded-thermal-insulation-solutions-facility-rockville.aspx
• https://business.maryland.gov/news/marylands-build-our-future-participants-pave-the-way-for-growth-and-innovation/