Private investors could be the key to a potential industry getting started in Lee County.
AMJET Turbine Systems has secured about $250,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Iowa Department of Economic Authority in recent weeks.
The company has been working directly with the Lee County Economic Development Group (LCEDG).
LCEDG Executive Director Steve Bisenius says these grants will be used to design a full-scale version of the hydro-electric turbines AMJET would eventually produce.
Bisenius says the company needs much more money, though, to build the testable version, which is why the private investors are needed.
Keokuk has already invested $200,000 in AMJET while Lee County has given $150,000.
The company has already tested a small-scale version of the turbine through the University of Iowa.
