Automation Alley Funds Hybrid Power Trains, Religious Social Networking, and Clean Diesel

Automation Alley, a technology business association based in Troy, MI, has invested $300,000 in Southeast Michigan technology companies, the group announced Thursday.

Automation Alley invests a maximum of $250,000 in seed money per company to help them accelerate the growth of their technology-based businesses.

Companies receiving funds this time around are:

Cargo Solutions Group: $250,000 for the Sterling Heights, MI, company researching hybrid power trains and solar recharging systems. Paul Chapman, president and CEO, said the seed money is key in helping to close a “comprehensive investment deal with several partners,” according to a prepared statement.

CircleBuilder Software: $25,000 for the Franklin, MI, company that produces social networking software for faith-based and other “cause-related” organizations. CircleBuilder was one of 30 startup companies selected to present at an Angel Venture Fair at the Union League in Philadelphia on April 6. Howard Brown, company founder and CEO, won the 2010 Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship “Elevator Pitch” competition, an event that celebrates innovation in the Great Lakes. Brown said in a statement that CircleBuilder will use the funds to execute its market and distribution strategy.

Clean Emissions Fluids: $25,000 for the Detroit company that develops biofuel and clean diesel systems. The company has developed a patent-pending system called FAST (Fluids Affordably STored), which stores and blends variable-ratio biofuels and fuel additives designed for clean diesels.

Author: Howard Lovy

Howard Lovy is a veteran journalist who has focused primarily on technology, science and innovation during the past decade. In 2001, he helped launch Small Times Magazine, a nanotech publication based in Ann Arbor, MI, where he built the freelance team and worked closely with writers to set the tone and style for an emerging sector that had never before been covered from a business perspective. Lovy's work at Small Times, and on one of the first nanotechnology-themed blogs, helped him earn a reputation for making complex subjects understandable, interesting, and even entertaining for a broad audience. It also earned him the 2004 Prize in Communication from the Foresight Institute, a nanotech think tank. In his freelance work, Lovy covers nanotechnology in addition to technological innovation in Michigan with an emphasis on efforts to survive and retool in the state's post-automotive age. Lovy's work has appeared in many publications, including Wired News, Salon.com, the Wall Street Journal, The Detroit News, The Scientist, the Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Report, Michigan Messenger, and the Ann Arbor Chronicle.