Daniel Englander
German Foreign Minister Announces MIT Partnership April 12, 2008 at 9:37 AM
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, MIT President Susan Hockfield, and Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environment Ian Bowles, were on hand at a press conference today to announce the beginning of a partnership between MIT and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. Citing the history of cooperation between Germany and Massachusetts on greentech, such as the collaboration between Q-Cells and Evergreen Solar, Steinmeier said he believed the partnership would be successful in “bringing together the brilliant minds of our two countries.”
With $5 million from the Mass Tech Collaborative and $1 million from the National Grid, the new Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems will focus on developing solar and energy efficiency technologies. The new center will be headed by Evergreen Solar alum Nol Browne. In response to the announcement, Prometheus Institute president Travis Bradford said, “you don’t see that every day. And you can quote me on that.”
Go back to the front page >>
[...] It was also very entertaining to be invited as a member of the “press” to attend the adjacent press conference for the big announcement that MIT and the Fraunhofer Institute are teaming up to launch the “MIT-Fraunhofer Institute for Sustainable Energy Systems.” German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was there alongside Massachusetts Sec. of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles, so lots of scribes and photogs… and one highly amused VC. Self-centered entertainment value aside, this launch is a big deal and yet another good sign of the major efforts being undertaken to help build the cleantech cluster here in New England. More info here. [...]
[...] It was also very entertaining to be invited as a member of the “press” to attend the adjacent press conference for the big announcement that MIT and the Fraunhofer Institute are teaming up to launch the “MIT-Fraunhofer Institute for Sustainable Energy Systems.” German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was there alongside Massachusetts Sec. of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles, so lots of scribes and photogs… and one highly amused VC. Yours truly’s self-centered entertainment value aside, this launch is a big deal and yet another good sign of the major efforts being undertaken to help build the cleantech cluster here in New England. More info here. [...]