Orono startup lands EPA grant to create biobased ceiling tiles
File Photo / Tim Greenway
James Chittum of Grow-Tech LLC said he sees tremendous opportunity for Maine companies such as Revolution Research that make products using renewable biobased resources from forest, farm and sea.
Two-year-old Revolution Research Inc. of Orono won a $100,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant to design the manufacturing process for a biobased ceiling tile that is durable, non-hazardous, compostable and better insulated than conventional tiles, the Portland Press Herald reported.
According to its website, Revolution Research is an R&D company focused on investigating and developing innovative biobased products for various applications.
The company was founded in 2014 by Nadir Yildirim, a graduate student at the University of Maine. Nadir’s innovative idea to produce a biobased foam board from cellulose without using adhesive or toxic chemicals prompted him to form the company, which has a small team of engineers and staff in addition to a scientific advising team.
So far, it has received several grants, including $225,000 from the National Science Foundation and $3,000 from Maine Technology Institute with a $3,000 match. It also won the UMaine Business Challenge in 2015 and completed the Maine Top Gun Accelerated Program, winning first place in its competition.
Earlier this year, Grow-Tech LLC Director of Business Development James Chittum told Mainebiz that he sees tremendous opportunity for Maine companies such as Revolution Research that make products using renewable biobased resources from forest, farm and sea instead of petroleum-based compounds such as polyethylene or polystyrene.
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