Maryland Energy Innovation Institute

MEII will drive UMD energy innovations in partnership with Mtech and Commerce. Moreover, with MCEC integrated into MEII its role as a “green bank” investment vehicle will be instrumental in facilitating capital to support technology commercialization and project development, and provide a direct link to various energy sector stakeholders, industry, and utility partners.

According to the Energy Department's 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report, the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors are among the fastest growing parts of the U.S. workforce. Solar industry jobs jumped almost 25% in 2016 and wind employment increased by 32%. Bioenergy and geothermal sectors continued to employ thousands of Americans. Energy efficiency, which accounts for almost 2.2 million jobs, is projected to have a 9% employment growth in 2017 as more Americans reduce their energy consumption to save money.

The University of Maryland has grown its number of issued patents by 37 percent since NAI and IPO first issued the report in 2013. To date, the university is the holder of more than 680 U.S. patents. A sample of 2016 patented UMD innovations that are already making an impact include: * U.S. Patent 9,471,082 for Optimizing and Controlling the Energy Consumption of a Building, jointly developed by and licensed to Earth Networks * U.S. Patent 9,476,862 for Highly Selective Nanostructure Sensors and Methods of Detecting Target Analytes, exclusively licensed to N5 Sensors