Week in Review: February 22 – February 26, 2021
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CEG IN THE NEWS
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REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Catapult Games, in Schenectady, to develop police de-escalation virtual reality training game
“The video game studio startup Catapult Games is working with the Schenectady Police Department to develop a virtual reality training tool.
The software in development, called VRPD (Virtual Reality Police De-escalation) features a simulation to help train police officers on the best ways to avoid escalating situations as well as how to de-escalate when necessary.”
Albany’s port suddenly at the center of things
“The Port of Albany expects its latest addition, a 60,000-square-foot warehouse, to be completed next week, Port General Manager Richard Hendrick said Tuesday. It’s the latest in a series of projects to expand capabilities at the port on the Hudson River.
Engineering design work for the Port’s new wind turbine manufacturing facility is also progressing, and Hendrick said the plans likely will be presented to the Town of Bethlehem by June for site approval. A groundbreaking is expected in 2022 for the $200 million project, which will create 500 construction jobs over a two-year period and up to 350 manufacturing jobs.”
New York’s Regional Economic Development Council competition to continue in 2021
“New York’s annual Regional Economic Development Council competition is returning for 2021.
The usual $750 million has been included in the proposed state budget for the annual regional competition program in 2021 to fund projects from Buffalo to Long island.”
Demand for warehouse space drives lower vacancy rates, higher rents in the Albany region
“The vacancy rate for industrial property fell to 2.7% in the second half of last year in the Albany region as demand for warehouses continued to outpace supply, according to CBRE-Albany.
The vacancy rate for 66.1 million square feet of space dropped by 0.8 percentage points compared to the first half of the year.”
Jim Siplon named CEO of Warren County economic development group
“Former Just Water executive Jim Siplon on Tuesday was appointed chief executive and president of Warren County Economic Development Corp.
Siplon had been serving as interim president since July, following the death of his predecessor and former Glens Falls mayor Ed Bartholomew.”
New York’s Regional Economic Development Council competition to continue in 2021
“New York’s annual Regional Economic Development Council competition is returning for 2021.
The usual $750 million has been included in the proposed state budget for the annual regional competition program in 2021 to fund projects from Buffalo to Long island.”
Kirsh Helmets To Increase Marketing Efforts As Motorcycle Season Expands Nationwide
“Motorcycle helmet manufacturer Kirsh Helmets launched its first product, the CHM-1 half shell helmet, in December. The company has also expanded its network of independent agents throughout the country.
“Our agents are working to get our helmets into stores—primarily motorcycle dealerships,” said Donald DeVito, president and chief operating officer. “We have 18 agents right now and would like to add a few more.”
“A local entrepreneur is nearing commercialization of a product for the semiconductor industry that he began working on more than 20 years ago.
Sunghoon Lee is ready to set up a commercial manufacturing line for his startup, SMART Pad. The product is a pad used to polish semiconductor wafers, but compared to existing pads on the market, Lee says his product is made in a way that leads to better polishing results and decreases defects.”
GE Research lands $3.5M grant for electric flight
“GE Research has been awarded $3.5 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) at the US Department of Energy to develop electric power distribution cables, connectors and circuit breakers for “fully electric aviation applications.” The proposed 10-megawatt system would achieve 10 times the power density of traditional systems to enable all-electric propulsion of large aircraft, according to the DoE announcement.
The proposed cable could also be used in applications including electric ships, submarines, and off-shore wind turbine platforms.”
