The University of Connecticut will use $4 million it has raised in state and private funding to broaden its fuel cell research at the School of Engineering, recruiting researchers and faculty members with expertise in fuel cell and other alternative forms of energy.
Half the money was donated by two companies that develop fuel cells ”“ Danbury-based FuelCell Energy and UTC Power in South Windsor ”“ and the Northeast Utilities Foundation. The donation triggered $2 million in matching state funds created by the General Assembly last year as a permanent line item of $2 million per year to support UConn”™s fuel cell program. The state money is released when the university raises $2 million in private funds.
The university said it would leverage the money to bring in even more state and corporate money to hire as many as a dozen world-class researchers and professors to study fuel cell technologies. Michael Hogan, UConn”™s new president, said the money will help establish a training ground for the 21st-century work force, reduce consumption of fossil fuels and provide national leadership on developing energy alternatives.
FuelCell Energy has its headquarters in Danbury and manufacturing operations in Torrington.
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