Bill would sow seeds in young biofuel firms The measure expands the state's ``proof of concept'' grants, which were approved last year.
BYLINE: Kimberly S. Johnson Denver Post Staff Writer
Colorado's bioscience community is pushing for legislation that would earmark $2.5 million to help grow emerging companies and invest in biofuel development.
House Bill 1060 is an expansion of legislation approved last year that offered $2 million in "proof-of-concept" grants to researchers at Colorado colleges and universities looking to advance potential products and drugs into commercial entities.
Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, and Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, are sponsoring the bill. It has been introduced in the House and assigned to the finance and appropriations committees.
The new bill would include $900,000 in grants for research in biofuels on the list of bioscience projects eligible for state support. Biofuels weren't explicitly excluded from last year's bill but were ineligible based on the definitions of bioscience that companies used.
"We wanted to include the biofuels sector so it would fit with the legislature's and governor's agenda to advance biofuels," said Denise Brown, executive director of the Colorado Bioscience Association.
Gov. Bill Ritter has made renewable energy a key priority during his first year in office.
Last year's bioscience grant funded 27 research projects and is expected to result in five to 10 new companies, Brown said.
HB 1060 would set aside $2 million for startup companies that have received federal Small Business and Innovation Research grants to defray business costs. The state funds would match 50 percent of the SBIR grants up to $50,000.
Only companies that have licensed technology from Colorado research institutions would be eligible, Brown said.
"What we want to do is use these state funds to allow the company to create a business plan, protect intellectual property and do market analysis, so the company is advancing (at) the same time it's advancing its newly licensed technology," Brown said.
A bill of this kind would have helped Blue Sun Biodiesel in its early days, said Jeff Probst, president and chief executive of the Westminster-based company founded in 2001.
"It could have helped accelerate our technology," he said. "If there are state funds going to Colorado initiatives, they're going to get more exposure and increase awareness of developments going on in our state."
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.