In September 2013 the Academy received notice that it had been
awarded a $1.4 million University Transportation Center Grant from
the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a Marine Engine
Testing and Emissions Laboratory (METEL).
This grant is the largest federal research
grant received to date by Maine Mari-
time Academy and marks the first oppor-
tunity for the college to serve as a lead
research institution.
The new laboratory will focus on the re-
search and development of emissions
reductions technologies and engine ef-
ficiency enhancement technologies for
marine and related power plants. ME-
TEL will concentrate efforts on a num-
ber of DOT strategic goals, including the
advancement of environmentally sus-
tainable policies and investments that
reduce carbon and other harmful emis-
sions from transportation sources.
"This funding comes at an important
time for the Maine Maritime Academy
and the marine transportation industry.
The Academy, in partnership with the
University of Maine, has the knowledge-
base needed to develop emissions reduc-
tions and efficiency solutions for marine
diesel engines. This new investment will
allow them to conduct this critical re-
search and advance practical solutions
for the maritime industry," said Senator
Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, and
Representative Mike Michaud.
Robert Somerville '65, Former Chairman of ABS, and MMA's
Vice Chair speaking at the ABS Center for Engineering, Science and
Research groundbreaking, September, 2013.
"With our academic collaborator, the
University of Maine at Orono (UMaine),
and commercial partners Sea Change Group LLC, Global Marine Solutions, and Thermoelectric Power Systems
LLC, we are working to implement marine diesel engine performance and emissions-reduction improvements
which are commercially viable and cost-effective," said Dr. Richard Kimball, Professor of Engineering at Maine
Maritime Academy and Project Director/Principal Investigator of METEL.
.
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