Title: Novomer wins $2.1m in federal funding - Boston Globe

Industry sector: Other

Novomer wins $2.1m in federal funding

By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff

The US Department of Energy has awarded $2.1 million in stimulus funds to Novomer Inc., a Waltham company that makes plastics and coating materials out of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that many believe contributes to climate change. Novomer executives are expected to announce the award tomorrow.

The money is part of a $100 million US Department of Energy program that gave financial support to a dozen companies trying to develop a beneficial use for carbon dioxide. Novomer has partnered with Kodak Specialty Chemicals, a unit of Eastman Kodak, and Praxair Inc., an industrial gases company that acts as a supplier of CO2, to scale up the technology it uses to make its products.

The project already has received financial support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Though Novomer is headquartered in Waltham, it does its research and development in Ithaca, NY.

"Products and technologies that can be deployed today to help offset CO2 emissions play a fundamentally critical role in the global effort to combat climate change and ensure environmental stability," said Novomer chief executive Jim Mahoney. "Novomer's products are a demonstrable example of that."

The company hopes to receive an additional $23 million from the government.