Environment

For the burgeoning life sciences hub that is Central Massachusetts, Governor Maura Healey’s $3.5-billion Mass Leads Act economic development proposal looks to add fuel to fires.

Colony Retirement Homes III in Worcester has been granted $8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the department’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, which issues direct loans and grants to support a variety of green initiatives for eligible HUD-assisted multifamily properties.

The U.S. Department of Energy credits, combined with the other federal and private funds, will assist the company to begin production at the facility faster, said Jason Mortimer, Electric Hydrogen’s senior vice president of global sales.

The joint venture will own and operate two planned EV battery recycling plants, with one in Poland and the other in Germany.

EPA officials suggested the money could go toward a range of uses under the umbrella of clean energy.

In January, more businesses were incorporated in Central Massachusetts than in any other month since at least January 2017, outpacing the state as a whole, which also set a record for new business starts.

The upgrades, which are expected to be completed by February 2026, will help make the air station’s infrastructure more resilient.

Clark is in the process of hiring a dean to lead the school once it commences operations.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Stow clean energy firm River Otter Renewables have been granted $75,000 each for climate-related initiatives, as part of a $2.5-million award statewide from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

A clean hydrogen facility under construction in Devens has been awarded a $46.3-million federal grant, weeks after the company behind the project raised $50 million in private financing.