Governor Wes Moore announced $6.95 million in Build Our Future grants awarded to 10 projects across Maryland aimed at strengthening innovation infrastructure in key sectors such as life sciences, clean tech, cybersecurity, and agriculture. Two Montgomery County-based companies, Liatris and Silvec Biologics, received funding to expand facilities supporting clean energy materials and agricultural biotech innovation.
Per the news release distributed Tuesday, June 10: “Governor Wes Moore today announced that the Maryland Department of Commerce has awarded 10 grants totaling $6.95 million through the
Build Our Future Grant Pilot Program
. The recipients represent projects that will support innovation infrastructure development in eligible technology sectors.
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Blackbird Laboratories
– $2,000,000 to support the creation of the Baltimore BioHub, a world-class, 35,000 square-foot life sciences incubator and wet lab to be developed at the City Garage Science and Technology Center. The facility will house and incubate early-stage companies. (Baltimore City) -
Frederick Community College
– $292,600 to support the build out of five rooms totaling 2,085 square-feet for life sciences training, including expansion of an existing biotech lab; a simulated clean room; and conversion of a classroom into a biotech lab for cell culture. (Frederick County) -
HighT-Tech
– $1,000,000 for construction of a pilot manufacturing infrastructure to commercialize a novel, electrified, rapid high-temperature manufacturing process to disrupt the production of clean-tech material, including advanced batteries and hydrogen electrolyzers. The company is a spinoff from the University of Maryland, College Park and Johns Hopkins University. (Prince George’s County) -
LaunchPort, LLC
– $700,000 to establish commercial advanced manufacturing capabilities in a 4,000 square-foot, Good Manufacturing Practices-compliant environment within LaunchPort’s 30,000 square-foot facility in Baltimore, enabling domestic production of medical device components that are currently sourced in other regions of the U.S. and internationally. (Baltimore City) -
Liatris
– $800,000 to construct a prototyping facility for next-generation thermal insulation materials in clean room space adjacent to existing headquarters. Validation of the technology would lead to an investment in larger-scale mass production. (Montgomery County) -
Medcura
– $333,333 for a biotech company that develops and commercializes a proprietary product from natural biomaterials to provide safe, effective and lower cost bleeding management solutions. This project will transform their headquarters building into an “end-to-end” manufacturing facility, significantly expanding manufacturing capabilities and moving the complete process back to Maryland. (Prince George’s County) -
Novel Microdevices
– $633,757 to establish and operationalize a Good Manufacturing Practices-compliant pilot manufacturing facility within their Baltimore City headquarters to produce innovative microfluidic cartridges for infectious disease diagnostics. The facility will be equipped to scale production, reaching fully automated custom manufacturing lines after five years. (Baltimore City) -
Silvec Biologics
– $98,000 for the agricultural biotech company licensing University of Maryland technology to develop an RNA therapy to immunize trees, vines and bushes against deadly viral and bacterial pathogens. This project will expand an existing 6,000 square-foot facility—which includes offices, wet labs, and plant growth space—to an adjacent 3,000 square-foot space in the same building and conversion to lab space, allowing for 10 new jobs over two to three years. (Montgomery County) -
Technology Advancement Center
– $95,456 to enhance, modernize and leverage existing cyber ranges and cyber kits with a focus on operational technology and critical infrastructure use cases. The goal is to provide an improved hands-on learning experience that supports Maryland’s goals to train and foster cybersecurity professionals. (Howard County) -
Washington College
– $999,930 to revitalize a 16,000 square-foot portion of a former manufacturing plant for use as a community-facing entrepreneurship center, innovation hub, and technology incubator. The proposed food entrepreneurship and agricultural sustainability technologies initiative, including a community kitchen, cold storage, and a regenerative farm, will be centered within the innovation plant. (Kent County)
