AUGUSTA (AP) – Sixteen applicants will share in $25 million earmarked for research and development of innovative technology-based Maine projects that can create new products, processes and services.

The Maine Technology Institute award winners were announced Tuesday at the State House by Gov. John Baldacci, who said they will leverage another $40 million into Maine’s “innovation economy.”

The awards covered projects in seven technology sectors, ranging from genetics and nanotechnology to high-resolution imaging and ceramics and composites.

Maine voters in 2007 approved $50 million in bond funds to help companies and research organizations advance technology and help Maine’s economy. The Maine Technology Institute handed out the first $25 million from the Maine Technology Asset Fund last August.