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27 <br />Established corporations are often criticized for being bureaucratic and slow to change, but they <br />play a crucial role when in the innovation-led knowledge economy. Corporations purchase small <br />growth companies that succeed in the market. Indeed, the most typical "exit strategy" for <br />successful entrepreneurs is to be acquired by established companies. <br />NCSU In 2008, NSF created an engineering research center at NCSU with a 5-year $18.5 <br />million grant. Dr. Alex Huang established FREEDM Systems Center with this grant (Future <br />Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management). His group has been focusing on ways to <br />make the electric power grid smart primarily by developing smart transformers to accommodate <br />two-way electricity flow. To manage the smart grid, these transformers will have the capacity to <br />receive, reroute and transmit power. MIT Technology Review included the work at NCSU on its <br />2011 list of the world's 10 most important emerging technologies. <br />FREEDM has attracted industry attention. The center has 50 full, associate or affiliate members; <br />the ten full members include a Swiss company, ABB, Inc., Cisco, Duke Energy, Progress Energy <br />and Siemens. ABB has also begun a Smart Grid Center for Excellence on Centennial Campus. <br />Currently, 15-20 smart grid companies operate in North Carolina with lO located in Raleigh. <br />The Raleigh-based headquarters include Consert, Elster, Sensus and Tantalus Systems. Elster is <br />a German company with a Raleigh subsidiary called Energy Access. Two additional companies <br />are in Cary: SAS and ABB that has been in Cary since 1999.20 <br />These and other entrepreneurial activities in Durham County and Wake County set a high bar for <br />Orange County. They indicate that the other core counties in the Triangle area appear to be on <br />track to capture commercial development based in the new economy. Raleigh and Durham are <br />the major cities of the region. NCSU and Duke University have prominent engineering schools. <br />Orange County must find its niche in the region to increase its attractiveness new companies. <br />This information on activities in Durham and Raleigh is best used for two purposes. First, <br />OCED can use these examples to encourage Orange County stakeholders to make more serious <br />commitments to county initiatives. Indeed, the business climate and approach to property <br />development needs to be improved in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough. Second, OCED <br />can keep track of activities in Durham and Raleigh to gain knowledge that may be applicable in <br />Orange County. <br />20 Marcy Lowe et al. "U.S. Smart Grid," CGGC, Duke University, April 19, 2011. <br />24 <br />