Updated by Staff

LONGMONT - Vice President Joe Biden praised Colorado’s contributions to renewable energy and alternative transportation during a speech Friday at  UQM Technologies, adding that the country needs to sponsor basic research to spur innovation. The high tech manufacturer of powerful electric motors and supplier to the alternative transportation niche received more than $45 million in federal stimulus funding last year, which the Vice President said is seed capital that helped UQM raise matching funds to purchase a new
production plant, the site of Friday’s event.

“It’s time for us to begin to innovate again on a  wholesale scale,” Biden said, who devoted much of his remarks to emphasizing how the federal government plays a critical role in  sponsoring basic research, mentioning the  transcontinental railroad, the Internet and DNA sequencing as key investments. “The Recovery Act is not just about getting us through today,” said the Vice President, “it’s helping small companies break to the front of the alternative energy world.”

That is where the U.S. should be, according to Biden. He said we’ve  lost its the in the field and faces switching from imported oil to imported batteries and wind power. 

“We have put basic research off for too long,” the Vice President added. “I think we’re back on the road.”

UQM President and CEO Bill Rankin said his company will grow from 70 current employees to 300 by this fall as it ramps up production of an electric motor for the Coda, an all-electric vehicle produced by a California-based company. “That technology, and our ability to produce it  cheaply, is why we have customers,” Rankin pointed out. Also in attendance at the gathering was CSU President Tony Frank, who told reporters he was encouraged to hear Biden’s emphasis on research and innovation.  The University has been a recipient of more than $31 million in research grants and contracts as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. CSU officials say that business spin-offs from the university have created 25 new companies and 900 new jobs.

Other political representatives in attendance to hear Biden’s talk were Governor Ritter, Senator Mark Udall and U.S. Representative Betsy Markey. Udall said the economy is turning around because the government has “invested” in  new technologies and fields. He lauded UQM for helping the United States work toward energy  independence and said that “strong companies make real stuff.”

Other laudatory comments about UQM came from the Governor, who congratulated the company and its workers for taking risks and expanding. “All of Colorado is proud of what this company has accomplished.”