Posted: November 21, 2009

(Nanowerk News) PureLux, a Winston-Salem-based nanotechnology company has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the NC Green Business Fund. A spin-out from the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University, PureLux is focused on commercializing next generation light sources that are 10 times more efficient than incandescents and three times more efficient than fluorescents. Founded in March 2007, PureLux is located in the Piedmont Triad Research Park.

Gov. Perdue announced the award, which supports green innovation, job creation and economic development. The North Carolina Green Business Fund provides competitive grants to help small businesses develop commercial innovations and applications in the biofuels industry and the green building industry, as well as attract and leverage private sector investments and entrepreneurial growth in environmentally conscious technologies and renewable energy products and businesses.

"This grant from the NC Green Business Fund will allow for the development of two testing sites to help finalize PureLux's product design and quantify illumination standards necessary in the lighting market" said Bob Summers, CEO of PureLux. The testing program will involve experts in lighting engineering and architectural design for fixture installation.

"PureLux has developed a uniquely efficient lighting system that will prove to be a revolutionary new way of lighting in commercial and residential structures," said Dr. David Carroll, chief science officer and director of the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University. Dr. Carroll is an Associate Professor of Physics at Wake Forest University and the inventor of PureLux technology.

In-house testing has shown that PureLux lamps represent a significant opportunity for the development of a manufacturing business in the state of North Carolina. As federal and state legislatures move to limit the use of incandescent light sources, PureLux has an opportunity to capture segments of the emerging green market. In addition, PureLux technology will provide a significant savings in greenhouse gas emissions, thus providing environmental benefits.