Morgan State University Newsroom Morgan State University
Morgan State University (MSU) recently executed its first-ever technology licensing contract, for the “Method and Design of the Ultra-Clean Mobile Combustor for Waste Biomass and Poultry Litter Disposal,” commonly referred to as CycloBurn. The technology, which was developed at Morgan, is being commercialized by a new Maryland company, Cykloburn Technologies, LLC, formed by two Maryland entrepreneurs. The technology addresses two significant societal needs: managing environmentally damaging pollution from excess poultry farm litter and generating energy — both electricity and heat — from renewable resources. The technology represents a significant value proposition to individual poultry farmers, by ridding them of poultry waste, creating electricity for operations and providing heat for poultry houses. The technology was funded in part at Morgan by a TEDCO MII Commercialization Grant and in part by a grant from the Abell Foundation.
The technology development activities are led by professor and laboratory director Seong Lee, Ph.D., and his research staff in the Center for Advanced Energy Systems and Environmental Control Technologies (CAESECT), in the School of Engineering at Morgan.
“This is a major milestone for Morgan State University,” says Victor McCrary, Ph.D., MSU’s vice president for Research and Economic Development. “It is appropriate that we celebrate Morgan’s leap into its second 150 years with its first technology transfer contract. And we do so with a technology that provides economic impact for Maryland’s agricultural community and concurrently provides benefits to Maryland’s environment.”
Cykloburn Technologies recently received a $150,000 investment from the TEDCO Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) to commercialize the innovation. Separately, the University, in partnership with the company, was awarded a $100,000 Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Program Grant, funded by the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) and Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to further develop the Cykloburn Heating System for use in poultry houses. In accordance with the licensing contract, the company has agreed to establish its business and manufacturing operations in Baltimore City.
“We are pleased to partner with Morgan State University to bring this potentially game-changing technology to market,” says Rob Meissner, CEO of Cykloburn Technologies. “This technology addresses a significant environment(al) concern, improves farmers’ profitability and will be attractive to poultry farmers across the country.”
About Cykloburn Technologies, LLC
Founded in 2017, Cykloburn Technologies is a Baltimore City-based startup focused on commercializing an innovative “poultry waste-to-energy” technology licensed from Morgan State University. For more information about Cykloburn Technologies, contact Rob Meissner at rob@techcomventures.com.
About Morgan
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
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Larry Jones, Morgan State University
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