BizVoice July/August 2015

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July/August 2015 – BizVoice/Indiana Chamber 43
Energy Innovation and Education By Symone C. Skrzycki
Upping the
(Energy) Ante
You could call it a powerhouse.
The Energy Innovation Center
(EIC), spanning 65,000 square feet in
Milwaukee’s Century City Tower, will
serve as a valuable resource to advance
the energy, power and control industry.
It was launched last August by the Mid-
West Energy Research Consortium
(M-WERC).
Collaboration between the business
and education worlds is fueling the
project. The EIC will house industry and
academic scientists, engineers, business
and economic development leaders and
others. Among activities are testing and
licensing new technologies, nurturing
start-up companies and advanced research.
The EIC will feature discovery labs;
M-WERC’s EPiC business incubator,
which emphasizes clean energy technology;
and a workforce development center
focusing on internships and recruiting at
universities and technical colleges. Early
tenants include Alliance Federated Energy
(specializing in plasma gasification
technology to generate electric and
thermal energy and biofuel) and the
Manufacturing Diversity Institute.
Established in 2009, M-WERC has
80-plus member companies and
academic institutions in eight states:
Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio,
Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan and Missouri.
“We are always interested in and
supportive of any efforts to strengthen
innovation and the commercialization of
new, affordable and reliable energy
technologies,” asserts Tristan Vance,
director of the Indiana Office of Energy
Development.
A grand opening will be held in
September, with the EIC expected to
be completely up and running in
October 2016.
Exploring the Industry
Ever wonder what it would be like to strike oil? You can get your hands dirty in doing so and
learn about the energy industry at CountryMark Pavilion.
“Our goal is to offer visitors a 360-degree view of CountryMark and the petroleum industry,”
comments marketing coordinator Raylee Honeycutt, who led an employee committee that set the
vision for the Pavilion.
The 7,000-square-foot building, which houses a museum-quality exhibit and meeting facilities,
brings the oil industry to life. CountryMark – an oil exploration, production, refining and marketing
company – opened the Pavilion at its refinery, located in Mt. Vernon, in August 2014.
“The feedback has been great!” Honeycutt declares. “It’s exceeding expectations. The way
we’ve been able to incorporate the interactive components … adds a variety of hands-on
opportunities for guests.”
Among the features:
• Geology pod explores the Illinois Basin, crude oil and more.
• Refinery pod. “That really gives visitors an understanding of how, once crude oil leaves the
ground and enters the refinery, those molecules change and become the valuable product of diesel
fuel or gasoline or all of the other products that come out of the refinery,” Honeycutt explains.
• Short video illustrates a day in the life of a farmer as well as CountryMark employees.
• Interactive wall traces oil’s journey from the ground through its delivery to customers as refined
fuels. It also highlights CountryMark’s role as a farmer-owned cooperative.
At press time, the Pavilion had hosted approximately 500 employees, member cooperatives,
current and prospective customers, and business partners – with another 500 visitors expected
during the summer months. It will begin providing educational tours for children this fall.
“Our target is the third- to fifth-grade level initially,” Honeycutt comments. “We’d like to
grow the program to begin talking with high school-age (students) about STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math) careers and what opportunities within the energy industry there
are for students …
“A lot of times, especially down in Southern Indiana, kids drive by a pump jack out in the oil
field and may not know what that really means or what’s going to happen with that oil once it comes
out, so it (the Pavilion) gives us a great story to tell.”
Indiana Vision 2025: Superior Infrastructure
RESOURCES: Raylee Honeycutt, CountryMark, at | CountryMark Pavilion at
Vistiors take a stroll along the interactive wall at CountryMark Pavillion.
RESOURCE: Energy Innovation Center at