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From the Desk of M-WERC Executive Director Dan Ebert
"Dear M-WERC members and friends-
 
On behalf of the M-WERC Team, I hope you and your families are safe and managing through this period of tremendous disruption and change. 
 
We understand that each and every one of you is taking extraordinary steps, personally and professionally, to respond to the crises and help your companies and communities manage the fallout from COVID-19 and lay the foundation for future growth and economic development. M-WERC has also taken a number of important steps to respond. Please see our COVID-19 statement.
 
And while our modes of communication have changed — I never realized there were so many video solutions! — we continue to execute on our significant priorities to deliver value to members. 
 
The first three months of 2020 for M-WERC has yielded exciting progress and development in strengthening the Energy Power and Controls sector in Wisconsin.
 
In this newsletter we highlight some of the major successes M-WERC has accomplished, from the 5th Anniversary of the WERCBench Labs Accelerator Program, launching and moving forward on the Extreme Power Conversion research project, building our new Talent and Development Hub and all of the collaborative efforts occurring in our Market Insights program like the Wisconsin Energy Distribution and Technology Initiative.
 
These are trying times for us all. The M-WERC Team remains focused on our core economic development mission of science and technology driven innovation. We support members and believe that by continuing to execute on our key priorities we will all emerge from this stronger than ever.
 
Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me directly if you have any specific questions or would like to learn more about any of the initiatives I've mentioned. 
 
Thanks for your support and stay safe!"
 
 
M-WERC
Executive Director

Talent Development
Women Engineers Take Home Top Prizes at
WERCBench Demo Day
On March 3, 2020 M-WERC held its annual Demo Day for the WERCBench Labs Accelerator program. The top prizes went to women engineers for the first time in the program's history. The event was well attended with investors, community leaders, entrepreneurs, M-WERC members, and educators. The 7 businesses in the 5th cohort presented their pitches to a full audience.

WERCBench Labs Celebrates 5th Anniversary
Over the Past 5 years, the WERCBench Labs class has had:
  • 47 graduate businesses
  • 42 are still in business; 2 were purchased
  • $1.4 million invested from WEDC in the program with another $1.4 million matched by M-WERC

  • $38 million dollars has been invested in these companies
  • 283 jobs created
  • 5 of the businesses have moved their offices and labs into the M-WERC building in Milwaukee and others are looking

The WERCBench Labs Accelerator is rated one of the top programs in the state and success has been compared to the BREW, FAB and Gener8tor.
Technology Innovation
Extreme Power Conversion research project underway
Academic and Industry Research members are collaborating to progress research into wide band gap (WBG) power semiconductor research, including increased optimization of WBG devices, packaging, and system integration.

Quarter 1, led by UWM, is currently underway and aims to characterize and optimize EMI filters and provide early test bed results.  A monthly meeting between the industry and university teams is utilized to provide continuous updates, collaboration and communication between project members as the research moves forward. 
Market Insights
Showcase of WERCBench Labs businesses
Click below to hear from our WERCBench Labs businesses, discuss their insights into sustainability, energy efficiency, from the construction side of things.

The WERCBench Labs presentations to M-WERC's Working Groups is available at the following link if you'd like to take a listen.
Upcoming Events and Projects
Distributed Energy/Energy Storage Working Group
  • April 2nd - Guest Speaker: Mark Siira
  • Biogas Whitepaper; Support for the State Biogas Action Plan
Industrial Energy Efficiency/Energy Water Nexus Working Group
  • April 8th - Guest Speaker: Asif Al Swapnil - Tech Challenge Winner
  • EWN Focus on Variable Speed Drives

Smart Cities Technologies Working Group
  • April 9th - Guest Speaker: "Smart Traffic Data Modeling"
  • Build upon past smart transportation theme, focus on smart corridors

Construction and Engineering Working Group
  • April 16th - Guest Speaker: " Energy Impacts of Timber High-rise Construction"
  • Focus on energy innovation in the healthcare sector.

**If you would like to join us for one of the calls, please contact us at membership@m-werc.org **
Member Spotlight:
We’re excited to be able to feature Eaton Corporation, one of the world's leading manufacturer and service providers of power management. Learn more