TO:                  Mayor William F. Martin, Jr.

                                    And

                        Members of the Lowell City Council

FROM:            Bernard F. Lynch, City Manager

DATE:             March 30, 2007

RE:                   Council Motion of 3/13/07 by Councillor Ramirez

“Request the City Manager to contact the President and CEO of Stellaris, a current resident of the Incubators at UMass-Lowell and discuss ways and means of keeping the business in the City of Lowell.”

I have contacted Matt Coggins, DPD Director, regarding the above mentioned motion.  Matt has stated that the Economic Development staff visited Stellaris on Monday, March 26, 2007 and had a very productive meeting with Stellaris’ President, Mr. James Paul, and the Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Mr. Tom Ward.

Stellaris’ corporate mission is to develop and commercialize renewable energy and energy conservation technologies worldwide.  The firm, founded in 2005, has been at the UMass-Lowell incubator space for approximately one year.  Their patent-pending ClearPower™ technology makes solar power affordable while greatly improving aesthetics by utilizing passive concentrating optics and unique assembly techniques.

Stellaris is currently seeking its first round of venture capital funding.  The funding would provide necessary capital to set up its manufacturing process.  Stellaris’ initial expansion plan includes approximately 20,000 square feet of affordable manufacturing space in the Lowell area.  Our Economic Development staff presented Stellaris with a marketing package including listings of available manufacturing space in Lowell as well as information on available financial incentives. We will continue working with Stellaris to identify a suitable manufacturing space and help Stellaris achieve succeed in Lowell.

If you have any questions regarding the information, please let me know.  Thank you.