Science and Enterprise

Tag: smart grid

  • Institutes Developing Power Grid Cybersecurity Technology

    Engineering labs at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta are designing a suite of tools to better protect electric power grids, incorporating lessons from recent smart grid developments. The $1.7 million grant from U.S. Department of Energy will fund the work of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, with two other organizations affiliated with Georgia Tech:…

  • System Being Tested to Move Old E-Car Battery Power to Grid

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, General Motors, and ABB Group in Cary, North Carolina are testing an operational platform to harness the electricity in spent electric vehicle batteries for the power grid. The project is funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, although the amount of the funding…

  • National Lab, Investment Fund to Support Battery Companies

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and CalCEF, a not-for-profit group in San Francisco supporting clean energy technologies, unveiled a program called CalCharge to help new energy storage companies. CalCEF has two divisions, the California Clean Energy Fund and CalCEF Innovations that designs business models, financial products, and public policies to foster clean energy. CalCharge aims to…

  • Circuit Manufacturer Acquires Wireless Network Developer

    Silicon Laboratories Inc. in Austin, Texas has acquired Ember Corporation in Boston to supplement the Silicon Labs product line in low-power networking for home and business applications. The initial value of the purchase is placed at $72 million. Ember is expected to contribute $10-$12 million in revenue in the second half of 2012. Silicon Labs…

  • Challenge Seeks Electric Power Utility Service Enhancements

    A new challenge on InnoCentive seeks ideas to improve the process for electric power utilities to deploy two types of electricity services in a timely, cost-effective manner. The challenge has a payout of $15,000 and a deadline of 8 July for submissions. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts is a company the conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for…

  • Energy Institute Unveils Prototype Alternative Battery

    The CUNY Energy Institute, part of City University of New York, has built an operating prototype zinc anode battery system, as an alternative to traditional nickel-cadmium batteries. The institute plans to start a company to commercialize the technology later in the year. The battery project is led by engineering professor and institute director Sanjoy Banerjee…

  • Energy Department Seeking New Power Storage Technologies

    The U.S. Department of Energy is looking for new methods for storing electric power, for use in plug-in passenger cars and to improve the performance of the nation’s power grids. The $30 million research program is being offered by the department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). The agency’s Advanced Management and Protection of…

  • Simulation Software Helps Optimize Utility Transport Grids

    Software developed by Fraunhofer Institute mathematicians and engineers can simulate the workings of utility grids and thus help managers of these facilities plan and operate their critical networks. Researchers from Fraunhofer’s Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing in Augustin, Germany will exhibit the software at the Hannover Messe technology trade show in Germany, 23-27 April.…

  • Ignore the Sticker Shock, Electric Trucks Can Pay You Back

    A new MIT study indicates that electric vehicles have the potential to improve the bottom line for many kinds of businesses, in addition to being good for the environment. The findings from the study, conducted by researchers at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL), were presented last month at the IEEE Power and Energy…

  • Battery Developer, Utility to Partner on Grid Energy Storage

    Lithium-ion battery developer A123 Systems in Waltham, Massachusetts and Massachusetts electric power company NSTAR have agreed to pilot test A123 batteries as storage devices in a suburban power grid. The pilot project will study and document the performance and reliability of A123 batteries at a substation in Medway, Massachusetts and is expected to become operational…