May 1: MatriCal Inc., a Spokane company that designs and manufactures products used for scientific research, says its planned move to the Riverwalk Plaza here will allow it to keep its operations and corporate offices consolidated in one location. Margo Buckles, an administrator for MatriCal, says the new location, at 1007 E. Trent, is ideal, because at 17,000 square feet it’s bigger than other locations the company considered elsewhere in the University District, where it wants to stay. Currently, MatriCal is located in a 10,000-square-foot space in the Sirti Building, at 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd.

April 29: Spokane’s clean-energy startup ReliOn has received an additional $23 million from PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund of La Jolla, Calif., and Robeco Clean Tech Private Equity of Rotterdam, Netherlands. ReliOn, which was spun off from Avista Corp. in 2003, produces backup hydrogen fuel cells for cell towers, air traffic control systems and other uses. Customers have installed the power units in roughly 450 locations. Of those, between 30 and 40 are for air traffic backup systems.

April 27: If Moscow-based Ivus Industries rocks the world with its smart ultracapacitor technology, the flash point for that success will come later this year, in the form of a 12-inch, 1-pound flashlight. The company calls the flashlight, for now, the Lightning-180. If it’s as successful as they hope, it will deserve to be called The Two-Minute Wonder for its quick recharge time.

April 9: Itron Inc. and the Washington State University Applied Sciences Lab (ASL) announced today the establishment of a research partnership between the two organizations. Itron provided a gift to ASL of $250,000, which will be matched by The Cheney Cowles Foundation. The organizations also entered into a research agreement for $450,000 over three years, for a total commitment to ASL of $700,000 over five years.

February 24: This is one time when the adage “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” should be ignored. One of the most sought-after services that Sirti offers is IP/BizNet, which is a partnership among Sirti, Gonzaga University Law School and regional law firms. The first-of-its-kind program can save Sirti clients tens of thousands of dollars in legal assistance to protect an individual’s or company’s most valuable asset—intellectual property, or IP.

February 20: InnovaTek project among nine awarded state funding for innovative commercial technology applications developed in partnership with Washington researchers.

January 15: It bends and squeezes and it’s not a DVD, CDROM, or CD. It’s a GibbyThin™, and it can play in all three formats off one single disc, playable in home DVD players, computers and compact disc players. GibbyThin™ is not a DVD, but it is compatible in DVD and CD players. Unlike conventional DVD’s, GibbyThin™ is flexible, squeezable, easily attachable to direct mail, magazines, newspapers, catalogues, merchandise and it can be sent like postcard through the mail.

November 28: In a tougher real estate market, a new Sandpoint company is banking on its 3-D online mapping tool giving agents a technological edge. GeoData Technologies, formed around a computer application allowing agents or potential home buyers to virtually explore property listings or communities by overlaying information on aerial images, recently unveiled its SiteSeer3D product at a national Realtor convention.