Tech Funding: If U.S. Bows Out, States May Come Up Short

摘要

BOSTON—When Solectria Corp. of Wilmington, Massachusetts, won a 3-year, 3.25 dollar million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Advanced Technology Program (ATP) this September, prospects for Project Sunrise—the company's 6-year effort to perfect advanced batteries and body materials for a mass-production electric sedan—suddenly brightened. Says company vice president Mark Dockser, "The government was saying, 'We're going to back you.' That made the project a lot more palatable for all our joint-venture partners," which included seven New England firms, a university, and the state energy agency.