Below is a press release from the Mississippi Development Authority:
The Mississippi Development Authority is currently accepting applications for the Mississippi Energy Program for Innovation Cluster: Virtual Quad from teams developing new products or qualified services in the energy and agriculture technologies.
Teams are eligible for a maximum award of $25,000, which will be in the form of a voucher, that can be used to receive technical assistance from a research university in Mississippi. MDA will award a total of $100,000 though the Energy Technical Assistance Program, which is supported by the US Department of Energy – State Energy Program. Teams receiving an ETAP grant will be paired with a relevant research university to solve specific technical challenges posed by the applicants.
V-Quad’s goal is to build an innovative virtual incubator network to support Mississippi entrepreneurs launching businesses focused on energy- and agriculture-related technologies. This will be a public-private partnership that connects Mississippi’s research universities, industry, government and non-profits through a cohesive, tech-based entrepreneurial network.
The project also includes a consortium comprised of MDA, Innovate Mississippi, the Institutions of Higher Learning and the four research universities: Mississippi State, University of Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi and Jackson State University.
The competition is open to teams of high school and college students, university or community college faculty, for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, public-sector employees or any combination of individuals from these entities.
Examples of eligible projects include the use of information and communication technology, robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, unmanned aerial and terrestrial vehicles and genomics within the energy and agriculture technologies.
The deadline to apply for a grant is July 31, 2022. For more information and or to fill out an application, go to V-Quad Incubator Network | Mighty Mississippi.