The Midwest Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC) announced this week that it is expanding its presence with an office in the Grainger Institute for Engineering at the University of Wisconsin.

According to a release, Dan Ebert will serve as the managing director of the Madison office and collaborate with Grainger Institute Technical Director Bruce Beihoff.

“This partnership will more closely align M-WERC and our members to the premier research institution in the University of Wisconsin System,” M-WERC CEO and Executive Director Alan Perlstein said in a statement. “(The partnership) represents another significant step in reaching across the Midwest to foster industrial collaboration and realize our goal of more quickly transitioning technology innovation into economic growth and job creation in the Energy Power and Controls sector.”

M-WERC was founded in 2009, with headquarters in Milwaukee.

Ebert previously served as the senior vice president of government affairs and external relations for WPPI Energy.