NYSEG Provides Grant Assistance to Four New Companies Through Koffman Southern Tier Incubator

A total of 10 local companies have received economic development grants in the past year NYSEG has put $250,000 into businesses focused on environmental technology, energy storage

 

BINGHAMTON, NY — July 19, 2023 —

New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) has chosen four new Koffman Southern Tier Incubator member companies, Agri-Trak, LLC., Aletair, LiBAMA Power and Standard Battery, LLC, to receive $25,000 in grant assistance through its Economic Development Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program. In the past year, a total of 10 Koffman member companies have received this funding through the Company. 

 

NYSEG, which serves 905,005 electricity customers and 271,547 natural gas customers across more than 40 percent of upstate New York, plays a vital role in assisting in the growth of existing businesses or those seeking to relocate to the state with its economic development programs. 

 

“Having been able to facilitate 10 grants has been nothing short of amazing,” Nick Zwierlein, client relationship manager of the Koffman, said. “Especially when considering all of the awards have gone to early-stage companies where $25,000 truly makes a difference for them, and in some cases has been the boost they needed to bridge the start-up “valley of death” and move forward with their high growth potential ventures. We are incredibly fortunate to have a partner organization like NYSEG that is committed to supporting the start-up ecosystem here in the Southern Tier of New York. I can’t say enough good things about the NYSEG Economic Development Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, and look forward to fostering these opportunities for Koffman member companies for years to come!” 

 

“The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator is a local ‘start-up’ success story; a unique collaboration fostering many new businesses and entrepreneurs,” said Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo. “I greatly appreciate NYSEG’s interest in supporting four of the Incubator's current companies with their grants. Small grants like this can be crucial in the early stages of a company’s growth; igniting the type of lift-off we want for these innovative ventures.” 

 

Agri-Trak’s technology helps farmers streamline administrative tasks — like payroll, employee and H2-A contracts, production records, and more — allowing them to focus more of their energy on their crops. As more farms utilize their platform, Agri-Trak projects the state-wide agricultural output will increase as a direct result of the additional time being spent in the field over administration.

 

“We’re thankful to NYSEG for providing this grant and to the Koffman [Southern Tier] Incubator for facilitating our application,” Jason Hill, co-founder and CRO of Agri-trak, said. “This funding makes a huge impact on an early business like Agri-Trak. The NYSEG grant gave us that little extra capital to be able to further develop our product and hire our first sales rep, which enables us to achieve our revenue targets even sooner.”  

 

Aletair uses its geophysical survey services to detect orphaned gas wells for environmental consulting firms and government organizations. Finding these wells allows them to be plugged and methane emissions to be reduced.

 

“It’s great that NYSEG is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York State,” Timothy de Smet, chief technology officer of Aletair, said. “Nick Zwierlein, Scott Hancock, Per Stromhaug, and Olga Petrova have been helpful in getting our business off the ground, especially since starting during COVID. The funding will help us get the multiple sensors we need — drone-based geophysics is the future and this will help us get there.” 

 

LiBAMA Power produces advanced metal anodes for lithium-ion batteries. Its technology helps reduce the size, weight, charging time, and cost of today’s batteries while improving overall battery safety. 

 

Standard Battery aims to provide energy storage solutions that are adaptable to the existing market’s stored energy needs through the creation of a standardized unit of energy called the “Universal Battery Module,” which can be configured into systems of different sizes.  

 

NYSEG offers a host of economic development programs to help build a strong and healthy economy in New York. These programs can help existing businesses expand and attract new businesses to our service areas. Through its economic development programs, the Company continues its strong collaborative effort with economic development partners at the local, regional, and state levels. Visit www.lookupstateny.com to learn more about these programs. 

 

Other Koffman member companies that have received grants over the past year include: Empower Equity, Inc., Enhance VR, TruEnergy Inc., SunThru LLC, Ashlawn Energy, and EDGE Spray. 

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