TITUSVILLE,
Fla. – The Florida Department of Community
Affairs/Florida Energy Office (DCA/FEO) recently
received an $80,000 grant to launch a statewide
initiative that will unite members of
Florida’s glass industry to identify issues
and develop an industry vision for the next 10
to 20 years. Awarded by the U.S. Department of
Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy (DOE/EERE), the grant will be a
partnership between DCA, The Technological
Research and Development Authority (TRDA), and
Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) with
TRDA and CTC coordinating the individual
activities of the initiative.
Officially
titled Florida’s Glass Industries
of the Future (IOF), members of Florida’s
glass industry will work together to develop and
deliver advanced science and technology options
that will fulfill three goals:
lower the use of raw materials and the
amount of energy used per unit output; improve
labor and capital productivity; and reduce the
generation of wastes and pollutants.
The grant will be used to complete a
series of tasks, including compiling a
comprehensive profile of the glass industry.
This profile will be shared with the
industry members, who will be invited to join an
alliance that will work towards the
goals of the IOF program.
Through a series of workshops, alliance
members will focus on four main areas of the
glass industry, including production efficiency,
energy efficiency, environmental protection and
recycling and innovative uses.
Attendees will review current practices,
assess industry needs, formulate a vision plan
and develop a technology roadmap.
This roadmap involves implementing a
prioritized research agenda to develop and
deliver technology solutions to meet the
identified industry needs.
The
IOF program is a specific strategy implemented
by the Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT)
to improve energy efficiency, environmental
performance and productivity of materials and
process industries across nine energy-intensive
and waste-intensive industries throughout the
United States.
These include agriculture, aluminum,
chemicals, forest products, glass, metal
casting, mining, petroleum refining and steel
industries.
Florida’s Glass IOF marks the debut of
the IOF concept in the State of Florida.
Officials
with DCA worked with Florida’s Technological
Research and Development Authority (TRDA) and
Concurrent Technologies in Largo, Fla. in
preparing the IOF grant proposal.
The TRDA will serve as the prime
contractor for the grant, performing all of the
services outlined in the proposal.
“With
our partners we are helping the glass industry
to save energy and to reduce waste and
environmental impacts,” said DCA Secretary
Steve Seibert. “This initiative will also help
develop and deploy advanced science and
technology options to increase the productivity
of our glass industry.”
Frank
Kinney, executive director of the TRDA, is proud
the State of Florida was finally able to secure
its first IOF program.
“The glass industry makes up a
significant portion of Florida’s manufacturing
industry. This
program will lead to process and material
improvements that will help sustain a healthy
Florida industrial sector and add value to the
state’s economy,” he said.
For
more information on the Florida’s Glass Industries
of the Future grant, contact Dave Kershaw,
director of energy programs for the TRDA, at
(321) 269-6330.
Incubation
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