Winston-Salem Chamber Announces Tech Briefing Presenters

The Tech Council of the Winston‐Salem Chamber of Commerce announced 10 presenters for the 11th Annual Tech Briefing, which will open the Chamber’s Business & Innovation Expo on September 20, 8:00 a.m. at the Benton Convention Center.

2012 presenters include: B/E Aerospace; A better‐tasting beet juice from Wake Forest University’s Translational Science Center; Camel City Solar; Hanesbrands; MD Online Solutions; Orthovative Technologies; PMG Research; SnapCrowd; Technology Crops International; and the Laboratory for Complex Brain Networks at Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Department of Radiology.

The Tech Briefing is a fast‐moving event where each presenter speaks for five minutes about their innovative technologies, designs, and products. The Briefing provides a sampling of the local companies, researchers, and inventors that are helping to transform the economy and community.

The Tech Briefing is free and open to the public, though registration is required at www.winstonsalem.com/techbriefing.aspx. Read more.

Wake Forest considers renewable-energy plant that could create up to 200 jobs

A startup company wants to shine a brighter light on renewable energy with a potential $25 million manufacturing plant that could produce up to 200 jobs. Camel City Solar, formed in September, is the latest version of an entrepreneurial spinoff from Wake Forest University's Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials. Most of Camel City's research is being contracted through the center.

The company, based in Villanova, Pa., is trying to commercialize an optical fiber-based design for solar cells for uses ranging from solar farms and heat pumps to rooftop tiles.

CEO Bob Summers said he plans to request local and state incentives during the first quarter to help Camel City obtain a plant with manufacturing space ranging between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet. The company expects to look at plant sites in January with the expectation of moving forward with manufacturing by the end of March. More.