Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board

Priority Areas

This plan supports and advances the targeted technology sectors that have guided Maine’s R&D investments since 1999. Agriculture, forest products, and aquaculture and marine fisheries are heritage industries that correspond directly to established target sectors. The high-growth target sectors, such as offshore wind and artificial intelligence, combine elements of multiple sectors in new and creative ways. In doing so, they build on Maine’s historical comparative advantages to create new opportunities across multiple industries. This section presents the primary goals of R&D within each sector. See Appendix V for additional detail.

Heritage Industries

Agriculture

As the world’s population grows, and demand for sustainable food sources rises, Maine’s natural resources and its location on the Eastern Seaboard create a unique opportunity for growth and innovation in agriculture. With strategic investments, Maine could lead the country in climate-smart practices, and significantly increase the amount of food consumed from in-state producers.

• Goal 1 Research
  • Objective Prioritize research in four areas: 1) climate-smart agricultural practices including soil health, energy and water management, and crop breeding, 2) advanced technologies, 3) local food systems, and 4) pest and disease management.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Increase in-state food consumption to 30% by 2030; strengthen local food supply chains while supporting more highly diversified farms that allow for the development of niche markets and specialty products.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Empower Maine farmers and farm workers to improve production practices by using climate-smart agricultural practices and advanced technologies (e.g., energy- and resource-efficient systems, decision support systems, drone technologies, remote sensing, precision agriculture).
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Increase in-state food consumption to 30% by 2030 and promote climate-smart agricultural practices.

Aquaculture & Marine Fisheries

Seafood and its supporting marine-based industries are part of Maine’s economic and cultural heritage. Changing economic conditions, environments, and regulations can impact Maine’s aquaculture and fisheries sectors, threatening the resilience of Maine’s working waterfronts. Research and innovation can help the communities affected by these changes anticipate and adapt to them, while reducing seafood trade deficits, increasing domestic food security, and increasing climate resilience and ocean health.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Advance the sustainable use of Maine’s ocean and coastal resources for economic activity while preserving the health of these ecosystems.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Expand sustainable aquaculture and fisheries operations along Maine’s coast to help diversify coastal economies.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Preserve and grow a broad range of jobs within the seafood and marine bioproducts sector.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Assist the industry, policymakers, consumers and natural resource managers in understanding and increasing coastal climate resilience through adaptation, mitigation, and decarbonization.

Forestry & Forest Products

Maine’s forests can fuel a vibrant manufacturing industry while taking a lead role in the state’s efforts to mitigate climate change. The vastness of this natural resource, combined with world-class research expertise, create a unique opportunity for Maine to be a leading source of climate-friendly, sustainable, and biobased products.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Improve tools to optimize forest management, and advance the development of climate- friendly and biobased alternatives in a variety of products and industries, including manufacturing, construction, and biochemicals.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Catalyze the growth of a vibrant manufacturing industry that uses advanced technologies to create products that increase demand for a diversity of Maine tree species and grades of fiber.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Preserve and grow the forest industry workforce, and create new jobs at facilities making innovative wood-based products.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Identify products and practices that mitigate the impacts of climate change on Maine’s forests and the globe, reduce the carbon footprint of Maine’s forest products industry, and help Maine reach its 2045 carbon-neutrality goal.

Wyman’s

Maine is known for its wild blueberry production. Wyman’s, a family-owned Milbridge-based business, was founded in 1874 with the mission to help the world “eat more fruit.” With the demand for fruit retail products growing, Wyman’s is developing new ways to engage the Maine community, create healthy consumer options, and be a leader in agroecosystem research.

In 2020, the company was named the largest retail brand for frozen fruit in the United States. Bruce Hall, Wyman’s director of agroecology, says collaborations with the University of Maine were critical to this success. As demand for retail products grows, there’s a need to consistently produce more wild blueberries. Wyman’s partnered with the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station to create Wyman’s Wild Blueberry Research & Innovation Center. This facility is the first collaboration between private and public research groups in the wild blueberry market and will lend itself to increasing hands on educational opportunities for students and future industry leaders.

Continuing their focus on educational programs, Wyman’s is funding two fellowship opportunities for graduate students. Their research will focus on quantifying carbon sequestration in blueberry agroecosystems and frost mitigation techniques.

“We may be best known at Wyman’s for growing wild blueberries and selling fruit, but we are most proud of our positive impact on our local communities and environment,” says Hall. “We have sowed the seeds of future collaborations with UMaine and, with them, push the bounds of stewardship and sustainability.”

Peak Renewables

Three-fifths of Maine households use oil to heat their homes, more than any other state. Methane gas, a by-product of dairy production, is an alternative that could help Maine reduce carbon emissions and gain energy independence. Peak Renewables, a subsidiary of Summit Utilities, Inc., is researching how to do this.

The Maine dairy industry’s 80,000 cattle produce over 1 million tons of cow manure annually. High methane emissions and contaminated runoff can cause significant environmental damage.
With funding from MTI, the U.S. Department of Energy and others, Peak Renewables is turning cow excreta into pipeline-quality natural gas to fuel the state. The company broke ground at the first renewable natural gas (RNG) dairy digestion facility in Clinton in July 2022.

The digester heats and decomposes the manure, producing biogas. The gas is then cleaned to make it pipeline quality. Renewable energy credits will be sold to third parties that need them for their own decarbonization requirements. The gas itself will be purchased by Peaks Renewables’ affiliate company, Summit Natural Gas of Maine, and used to provide service to its thousands of customers throughout the state. Carbon beneficial RNG is functionally identical to traditional natural gas and can be used for heating, cooking, and other processes. Peak Renewables estimates the facility will avoid emissions equivalent to 28,000 metric tons of dioxide each year of operation.

High-Growth Target Sectors

Aerospace

“New Space” is a fast-growing market, and Maine industries, from agriculture and forestry to aquaculture and fisheries, can improve their competitiveness using satellite data and other remote services. Maine has the research, education, and physical assets to excel in launching low- cost small satellites using small, low-cost launch vehicles.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Prioritize aerospace research with target areas identified by the Maine Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) ensuring alignment with Maine’s emerging Spaceport initiative.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Catalyze the development of an entrepreneurial space industry with a local supply chain, and provide data to support Maine’s heritage industries.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Create training programs in advanced materials and other “new space” topics, and promote STEM curriculum at all levels, from computer science in PreK-12 to advanced mathematics doctoral programs.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Advance the use of the Maine Space Complex to monitor the impact of climate change and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts. Identify products and practices that reduce the carbon impact of Maine’s emerging aerospace industry.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to generate transformative solutions that enhance human life and societal well-being in Maine and beyond. Through innovative technologies and applications, AI can help Maine industries improve their operations and compete in the global economy.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Develop transformative AI-based solutions that enhance the social and economic well-being of the citizens of Maine and beyond. Priorities include making AI more efficient, ethical, and secure.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Increase the number of Maine businesses and organizations using AI solutions to improve their products and operations.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Provide training and expertise to researchers and practitioners throughout Maine whose work could benefit from AI, and incorporate AI training into existing postsecondary programs in related fields.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Use AI to help advance climate-smart practices and policies in agriculture, aquaculture, forestry, fisheries, clean energy, and related fields, and research ways to reduce AI’s carbon footprint.

Advanced Building Products

Advanced, wood-based building products are a significant economic opportunity for Maine’s forest products industry, and an important tool for carbon sequestration. Maine’s vast forestlands position it for success in this growing field. Industry 4.0 (the application of information technology and real-time data to optimize processes and improve operations) is revolutionizing the manufacturing industry. Within construction, manufacturing-based production methods offer new ways to design and build affordable homes at scale.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Further develop innovative wood-based building products and construction practices, including wood fiber insulation and mass timber (engineered wood products that result in strong, large structural panels, posts, and beams), and innovative building techniques and technologies (such as prefabricated construction).
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Catalyze the development of an advanced building materials and techniques manufacturing cluster, including facilities for large-scale production of mass timber and wood fiber insulation.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Grow jobs within Maine’s forest economy and create new jobs connected to the design, manufacture, delivery, marketing, and transportation of wood-based building products.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Increase demand for carbon-sequestering products in long-lived buildings, encourage energy- and resource-efficient building products and processes, and encourage working forests that further sequester carbon.

Algae & Algal Products

Algae, from natural sources or grown in bioreactors, can fuel a vibrant independent industry, integrate into other industry sectors, and even help mitigate climate change. Maine’s diversity of algal resources, combined with world-class research expertise, create a unique opportunity to be a leading source of sustainable, algae-based products.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Improve tools to reduce the cost of algae cultivation and develop algae-based alternatives in a variety of products and industries, including biomanufacturing, biochemicals, biomedical research, and renewable energy.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Catalyze the growth of a vibrant manufacturing industry that uses advanced technologies to lower the entry barrier to use of new and diverse algae-based products and processes.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Help the algae industry expand and diversify its workforce by creating new production and manufacturing jobs at facilities making innovative algae-based products.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Identify and develop algae products and processes that reduce carbon dioxide emissions to help Maine reach its 2045 carbon-neutrality goal and increase exports of climate-friendly products and practices.

Biochemicals

Realizing the full potential of Maine’s burgeoning bio-alternative industries requires continual research on its scientific underpinnings.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Continue industry-leading research on nanocellulose, biofuels, and bio-derived polymers (i.e., plastics and rubbers derived from plant and algae resources).
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Continue improving the production and properties of bio-alternatives for use in a wide variety of industrial applications.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Maintain world-class bio-alternative research facilities and educational programs to train the next generation of innovators.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Increase demand for low-energy, carbon-sequestering products.

Biomanufacturing

Maine’s forest can be a world-class source of nanocellulose — a plant substance with properties similar to plastic. This can fuel a vibrant manufacturing industry that combines advanced technologies with a renewable resource to create sustainable products.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Decrease the cost and energy-intensity of nanocellulose production, and enhance its properties as a manufacturing material.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Move rural manufacturing — and the jobs it provides — toward an economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable future by advancing the use of nanocellulose in a wide variety of products and industries.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Sustain world-class additive manufacturing research and development facilities and educational programs to train the next generation of professionals and technicians.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Advance the use of high-performance, low- energy, climate sequestering products in a variety of industries.

Biomedicine and Engineering Advances

Maine has nationally competitive expertise in basic biomedical research and a wide range of academic and healthcare institutions involved in basic, applied and translational research. Their collective strengths and accomplishments create a unique set of opportunities. Moreover, Maine’s small population, served by a relatively small number of healthcare providers, suggests that collaboration and outreach will be necessary to engage patient populations in unique research initiatives.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Expand the application of precision medicine, biomedical data science, and genetic modeling of human disease.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Continue generating the biomedical discoveries and expertise that have helped launch multiple spin-off companies in Maine.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Continue generating Maine expertise in the fields of cancer, genomics, neurobiology, host-pathogen interactions, computational biology and bioinformatics, aging, addiction, metabolism, and renal disease through postbaccalaureate, graduate and postdoctoral research training.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Mitigate climate change enabled increased risk to infectious diseases (e.g, Lyme disease, West Nile virus)

Healthy Aging

Maine has one of the oldest populations in the U.S. In the coming decades, understanding how factors outside the healthcare setting influence the mental and physical health of older adults will be one of the state’s major public health challenges.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Prioritize funding of research centers and individual projects focused on improving the mental and physical well-being of older adults and their caregivers.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Encourage the creation of elder-appropriate technology solutions for older consumers, especially in the areas of AI, virtual and augmented reality, household technologies, and cybersecurity.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Prepare an age-capable workforce that can adequately identify and respond to the mental and physical health needs of older adults, especially in rural areas.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Assess and mitigate the impact of climate change driven diseases of highest risk to the elderly.

Offshore Wind

Floating offshore wind is a strategic opportunity for Maine to meet its renewable energy targets and create a resilient Maine-made clean energy industry. With one of the nation’s most robust offshore wind resources, and nearly a decade and a half of floating offshore wind innovation, Maine is poised to be a global leader in this burgeoning industry while preserving ocean access for historic uses.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Prioritize offshore wind research in three areas: 1) the technical aspects of engineering, manufacturing, installing, and operating floating wind turbines and farms in the Gulf of Maine, 2) their environmental and ecological impacts, and 3) the human dimensions and socio-economic impact of offshore wind development.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Catalyze the development of a floating offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Maine, and support the development of a local supply chain that creates export opportunities for services, processes, and technology developed and patented in Maine.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Sustain world-class floating offshore wind research and development facilities and educational programs to train the next generation of offshore wind professionals and technicians.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Expand Maine’s clean energy portfolio by sourcing energy from Maine’s abundant offshore wind resource, and catalyze the creation of a commercial floating offshore wind industry in Maine.

Tidal Energy

The Gulf of Maine, particularly the Western Passage between Maine and Canada, is one of the best tidal energy resources in the nation. With a successful ten-year history of R&D and commercialization that has advanced expertise in the field, Maine is strongly positioned to be a leader in tidal energy technology.

• Goal 1 Research Objective
  • Prioritize tidal energy activities in four areas: 1) an inventory of potential tidal energy sites, 2) research on environmental impacts, 3) research on the human dimensions of tidal energy development, and 4) creation of a scaled tidal energy test site.
• Goal 2 Enterprise Objective
  • Form a tidal energy cluster that encompasses research and design, manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance, regulation, and site development.
• Goal 3 Workforce Objective
  • Support the creation of a well-trained, well-paid tidal energy workforce, with opportunities for a diverse range of professionals, from engineers and managers to technicians and tradespeople.
• Goal 4 Climate Change Objective
  • Expand Maine’s clean energy portfolio by catalyzing the creation of a commercial-scale tidal energy operation in Maine.

Conclusion

Science and technology can be drivers of economic opportunity across Maine. Past investments in these areas – from both public and private sources – are the genesis of some of today’s most successful businesses. These businesses employ thousands of people, spark further innovations, and feed a positive cycle of economic growth. A well-trained workforce fuels this growth and helps all Maine people share in the prosperity that it creates. This plan presents targeted research and development opportunities with the potential to yield results in the next three to five years. It acknowledges the significant investments made to date and affirms the potential to realize even greater gains by replicating the proven success of partnerships between Maine researchers and innovators and other stakeholders within Maine’s R&D ecosystem.