News
Alabama Innovation Fund to award grants for technology growth
The Alabama Innovation Fund has $4.5 million to support programs that seek to leverage research performed by the state’s universities and other institutions to generate new ventures, create jobs and spur additional economic development opportunities. Created in 2012 as part of the “Accelerate Alabama” strategic growth plan, the Alabama Innovation Fund awards grants to bolster…
6 startup teams advance to Alabama Launchpad final round
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Alabama Launchpad, a premier entrepreneurship competition, announced that six startup teams are one step closer to winning a share of up to $250,000 that could help them to take their venture to the next level. Ten teams competed last week at Evonik Industries’ Birmingham location in the first pitch event for the…
Alabama firms aim to turn Paris Air Show connections into new business
WETUMPKA, Alabama – The leadership of Information Transport Solutions Inc. (ITS) trekked 4,500 miles to this month’s Paris Air Show to pursue a key strategic goal – build aerospace industry connections as the firm branches into the sector. “We want to be in the forefront with all the suppliers coming to Alabama in the aerospace…
Google to build $600 million Alabama data center
Google announced plans today to build a $600 million data center in northeast Alabama’s Jackson County, creating up to 100 jobs at a state-of-the-art facility designed for efficiency and powered by renewable energy. The data center will act as a hub for Internet traffic, operating in a network that keeps the Google search engine and…
TPA fast track would remove trade barriers, expand Alabama exports
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Alabama’s economy stands to gain investment and jobs if new trade agreements with Asian and European countries go into effect, but the fate of those treaties is caught up in the contentious debate over whether President Obama should be given fast-track authority to negotiate deals. The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved…
U.S. states take aim at aerospace at Paris Air Show
PARIS – Alabama had plenty of competition at this year’s Paris Air Show, with organizations from at least 15 other states exhibiting at the aerospace industry’s No. 1 business-development and trade show event. The “Made in Alabama” booth was in the air show’s U.S. Pavilion, which showcased a cross-section of American companies, organizations and industry…
Alabama cities look for aerospace growth at Paris Air Show
PARIS – With Alabama emerging as the next hub of passenger jet assembly, officials from cities as different as Birmingham and Enterprise traveled to this week’s Paris Air Show to position their communities for potential growth in the aerospace sector. Steve Pelham, chief of staff to Alabama Lt. Governor Kay Ivey, remembers the arc of…
Marshall engineers 3-D print copper rocket part in NASA milestone
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – NASA engineers at Alabama’s Marshall Space Flight Center have produced the first full-scale, copper rocket part using additive manufacturing – a milestone for aerospace 3-D printing. The part is a combustion chamber liner that must operate at extreme conditions during flight. In fact, temperatures on the inside of the paper-thin copper liner…
Airbus Alabama workforce gets hands-on training in Europe (video)
The first fuselage sections for Airbus’ maiden “Made in America” aircraft have arrived in Alabama, but the company’s workforce has been working quietly for months getting ready to launch assembly at Airbus’ new, $600 million facility in Mobile. Airbus reports that more than 100 members of its Alabama workforce have spent up to six months…
Auburn launches first FAA-approved UAS flight school
AUBURN, Alabama – Auburn University is positioned to become a key training center for commercial operators of unmanned aircraft as it launches the nation’s first FAA-authorized flight school for those piloting the aerial systems. Auburn’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight School represents the latest chapter in the university’s longstanding involvement in aviation, and the program is…