The U.S. Department of Energy announced that a research and development project submitted by Guided Wave Inc. has been selected as an award winner in its Industrial Energy Efficiency Grand Challenge. This initiative provides funding to various research and development projects across the country for the development of transformational industrial processes and technologies that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the industrial sector.

As a grantee, Guided Wave, a leading manufacturer of process chemical analyzers, will receive significant funding towards the development of an advanced on-line sensor for polymer processing. “This is a unique technique to control the plasticizing process,” states, Guided Wave, Corporate Fellow Dr. Terry Todd. “A high rate of scrap recycle is caused due to color problems. This new sensor may reduce this scrap significantly, thus minimizing energy consumption in the polymer extrusion process.”

According to the Department of Energy, American industry accounts for more than 30 percent of the energy used nationwide, is responsible for 27 percent of the country’s carbon emissions, and supports nearly 13 million core manufacturing jobs.  With such a large impact on the nation’s economic and environmental interests, the industrial sector remains a major part of the Nation’s clean energy equation. This funding will promote breakthrough achievements in the development of energy-efficient technologies and practices that will lower the energy demand of industry, open up new potential markets, and enhance the competitiveness of American business.