SC Launch® Company, Hyperion Partners LLC, Introduced at Renewable Energy Workshop

July 17, 2009

CHARLESTON, SC – July 16, 2009 – South Carolina-based Hyperion LLC was introduced this month by SCRA’s SC Launch at a reception in Charleston following the first day of a two-day workshop focused on green, renewable and oceanic technology markets.

A new collaboration, The Clemson/Greenville Alternative Energy & Renewables Collaborative, has been formed among the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR); Greenville County, SC; the City of Greenville, SC; SCRA and Hyperion Partners, LLC. The collaborative will expand research, funding, educational and future knowledge-based economic development opportunities in South Carolina. The group will further enable South Carolina to lead the integration of alternative and renewable energy efforts in automotive, transportation and other industries.

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Hyperion Partners is a start-up company formed to plan, coordinate and manage public and private renewable and alternative energy projects and ventures in the South Carolina Upstate. The company’s principals are Edward C. Marshall, Brad Van Meter, Gary F. Caldwell and Richard E. Parvey. Through this new collaboration, an initial project is underway to construct a hydrogen fueling station in the Upstate and produce and sell hydrogen and alternative fuel.

Hyperion is considering a location on the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research Campus for its first station in South Carolina. The station will provide immediate and ongoing research capability and long-range value for the community. It will be constructed to initially dispense Hydrogen, CNG (compressed natural gas) and propane as a demonstration project to enable the growth of new lines of research into alternative fuels at the research campus. The station will also provide the potential for City and County municipal fleet fueling and ultimately local, commercial use.

Research is planned for an adjacent residential and commercial community and located directly across Interstate I-85 from CU-ICAR.  Hydrogen and other alternative energy sources will serve as a research component for several of the developments planned within one of the largest planned urban infill residential and commercial developments in the Southeast, planned for a site directly across I-85 from CU-ICAR. Stationary fuel cell power generation could serve as stand-by, back-up or planned auxiliary supplement within the construction of the sustainably designed residential and commercial community.

This collaborative will enable commercialization of research from Clemson University and further strengthens South Carolina’s existing alternative energy presence. An existing hydrogen fueling station in Columbia with partners including Engenuity SC and the Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative was built earlier this year. Looking forward, groups have already expressed interest to establish a similar collaborative based in the Lowcountry. These projects help realize the vision for South Carolina to lead alternative energy research and commercialization.

“SCRA is pleased to invest in this and other initiatives that fulfill our legislative mandates through the Innovation Centers and Industry Partnership Acts. We are extremely proud to partner with CURF, CU-ICAR, the City of Greenville and Greenville County as well as Hyperion to further grow an alternative and renewable energy economy in South Carolina,” said Bill Mahoney, SCRA CEO. “Over the last four years, sustainability and renewable energy has become a renewing vertical market for SCRA. Not only in energy but also in other aspects in sustainable value chains such as materials, processes and legacy data. Our work in sustainable markets including our DOE and DoD awards to put fuel cells in Fort Jackson, our award to administer the national H-prize and our Next Generation Manufacturing Technologies initiative on behalf of the Defense Logistics Agency are paving the way for future knowledge-based work in sustainability throughout South Carolina and our nation.”

“Hyperion’s proposal to establish an alternative fueling station on the CU-ICAR campus is an excellent example of economic development through the knowledge economy. The project fits in with at least two of the emphasis areas of Clemson University (Automotive and Transportation Technology and sustainable Environment) and there is a very good reason to believe that future research will emerge from Clemson personnel in this area,” said Professor Joseph W. Kolis, Executive Director of the Clemson University Research Foundation, which assisted Hyperion with its SC Launch application.  

The Hyperion introduction followed the “Green, Renewable, Oceanic, Technology Transfer Outpost” workshop hosted by SCRA at the company’s Trident Research Center in North Charleston. The workshop was organized by SCRA and the Global Trade Guide Department of Institutional Research, Planning and Sponsored Programs. More than a dozen speakers for the two-day workshop included research leaders, international, federal and state officials and industry and university leaders. The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to exchange research strategies and build collaborations to capitalize on knowledge-based economic development opportunities focused on green technology innovation, including renewable energy topics covering wind, solar and biofuels technology.

SCRA has provided funding and support for more than 130 new knowledge-based start-ups in South Carolina since its inception in April, 2006 through its SC Launch program.

About SCRA
SCRA is a global leader in applied research and commercialization services with offices in South Carolina, Ohio and in the Washington, D.C. area. SCRA collaborates to advance technology, providing technology-based solutions with assured outcomes to industry and government, with the help of research universities in SC, the US and around the world.

About SC Launch
SC Launch, an SCRA affiliate, assists entrepreneurial start-up companies with up-front counseling, seed-funding, and access to a powerful resource network. The SC Launch mission is to help generate knowledge economy jobs in South Carolina, enhance the state’s quality of life and provide opportunity for all South Carolinians in the new economy.