Iowa’s three Regents universities are making faculty hires, launching studies, partnering with community colleges, and building industry partnerships—all in a $22 million effort to boost the state’s research capacity in renewable energy and energy utilization.

The benefits to Iowa could be many: research grants, new technologies, startup companies, educational opportunities and workforce improvements—all contributing to the state’s economic development.

“The alignment of the goals of the grant and the goals of state economic development are very good,” says Jordan Cohen, the chairman of the Iowa EPSCoR State Governance Committee and retired vice president for research and economic development at the University of Iowa.