NATIONAL Instruments has announced its 2011 Green Engineering Grant program to boost renewable energy, energy efficiency and smart grid systems.
The grant program aims to foster rapid design, prototyping and commercialisation of promising new systems with a focus on improving the smart grid and providing a foundation for clean energy.
Through the program, NI will donate up to US$25,000 equivalent in NI LabVIEW graphical system design software tools and training to eligible startups to help advance clean energy development in applications such as solar, wind and biofuel technology.
According to NI, the Green Engineering Grant program helps remove technological barriers by providing access to the training and tools needed to bring smart grid and renewable energy solutions to market.
LabVIEW software and the LabVIEW FPGA Module, as well as embedded prototyping and deployment platforms such as NI CompactRIO and PXI instrumentation, are used to build innovative control and monitoring solutions for the renewable energy market.
To date, the NI Green Engineering Grant program has delivered NI software and training to more than 40 startups and small companies working on a variety of revolutionary renewable energy applications.
Applications include:
- Powering remote villages with portable airborne wind technology
- Producing quality transportation fuels from inedible plants
- Generating electricity by harnessing ocean thermal energy
Readers can register for the webcast and learn more about the 2011 NI Green Engineering Grant program by visiting www.ni.com/greengrant