PNNL recognized for bringing clean energy innovations to marketplace
January 28, 2009
Lab earns two Federal Laboratory Consortium awards for transferring technology
RICHLAND, Wash. –
The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has been recognized for transferring two technologies to the commercial sector that create clean energy.
The Federal Laboratory Consortium has honored PNNL with two 2009 awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer, the consortium announced today. The consortium is a nationwide network that encourages federal laboratories to transfer lab-developed technologies to commercial markets. PNNL has received a total of 69 FLC awards, more than any other federal laboratory since the recognition program began in 1984.
To earn the awards, PNNL developed technologies and partnered with private companies. These partnerships then helped create and sell devices that generate electricity out of natural temperature differences in the environment and use solid oxide fuel cells to produce auxiliary power. An explanation of these technologies and how PNNL transferred them is below.
Thermoelectric Ambient Energy Harvester
The Thermoelectric Ambient Energy Harvester produces electricity whenever there is a temperature difference across the device’s two ends. Energy harvesters replace or extend the life of traditional batteries used in wireless sensors or radio frequency transmitters. Not having to travel to remote locations to check on batteries in equipment that monitors the integrity of dams or pipelines, for example, saves valuable time and money. Energy harvesters are expected to last as long as the sensors and transmitters they power.
First developed by PNNL, the energy harvester technology was introduced to the private sector when a group of University of Oregon graduate students created a business plan and marketing strategy for the technology through the joint UO/PNNL Technology Entrepreneurship Program. Along with technology veterans from Hewlett-Packard, one of the students founded Perpetua Power Source Technologies to commercialize the technology. The Corvallis, Ore.-based company received an exclusive license from PNNL to incorporate the technology into its new product called the Perpetua Power Puck™. It’s currently being marketed for industrial automation, military and other uses.
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells as Auxiliary Power Sources
PNNL is a recognized leader in developing solid oxide fuel cells, which cleanly and efficiently produce electricity from a wide variety of fuel sources. Battelle, which operates PNNL, teamed with the Michigan-based Delphi Corp. to develop cost-effective solid oxide fuel cells, which are then used in Delphi-developed auxiliary power units for transportation uses.
Among their many uses, the fuel cell auxiliary power units allow long-haul truckers to listen to the radio and to use air conditioning when the engine is turned off. In the future, the power units could also be used in combined heat and power systems and clean coal power plants. PNNL expects this improved technology to play a critical role in improving energy-efficient power generation.
The awards will be presented in May at the consortium’s annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C.
Business inquiries on the award-winning technologies or other PNNL innovations can be directed to 1-888-375-PNNL or techcomm@pnl.gov.
Tags: Energy, Environment, Fuel Cells, Batteries
