Catalyst Connection Receives $10 Million Grant From ARC to Boost Green Energy Manufacturing & Workforce Development Among SWPA Manufacturers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pittsburgh (Hazelwood), October 10, 2023 — Catalyst Connection, a not-for-profit organization that provides consulting and training services that help small manufacturers in the 12-county southwestern Pennsylvania region accelerate revenue growth and improve productivity, is the recipient of a $10 million federal grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
The grant is from the ARC’s Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) fund and will enable Catalyst Connection to lead a multi-state effort to assist more than 1,000 small- to medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) with expanding or entering the green technology and clean energy sectors in more than 150 counties across Appalachian Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia.
Funds will be used to provide training, technical assistance, supply chain mapping, and guidance on factory upgrades to support manufacturers of renewable energy, hydrogen power, low-carbon and decarbonized power, smart grid improvements, electric vehicles, and green buildings.
“This grant allows us to bolster the investments we are helping manufacturers make in physical and human capital to usher in a new era of energy development that puts the economic future of our region squarely on the shoulders of manufacturers in southwestern Pennsylvania and throughout the Appalachian Region,” says Petra Mitchell, Catalyst Connection’s President and CEO.
About the Appalachian Regional Commission
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is an economic development entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.
ARISE is ARC’s initiative to drive large-scale, regional economic transformation through multi-state collaborative projects across Appalachia. Using funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, ARC launched ARISE in August of 2022 to strengthen Appalachian business and industry, and to grow and support the development of new economic opportunities across multiple states. A total of $227 million has been made available through ARISE to date.
About Catalyst Connection
Catalyst Connection is a private not-for-profit organization that provides consulting and training services to small manufacturers in southwestern Pennsylvania to help them accelerate revenue growth and improve productivity. By collaborating with clients and the entire manufacturing community, Catalyst Connection contributes to the growth, vibrancy, and ongoing robustness of manufacturing throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.
The organization is supported, in part, by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Catalyst Connection is headquartered in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood in the Mill 19 development on the site of a former steel mill. For more information, contact Matt Holjes, Managing Director of Business Development, at 412.918.4262 or mholjes@catalystconnection.org