Optic Fiber Inside Transm Cable Measures Temperature

/0 Comments/in , /by

Here is most of the text of a summary prepared by the developers, Com Ed and Southwire. The complete Word document with graphics can be downloaded at:
http://www.ufto.com/clients-only/fotc.doc (password needed)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**ComEd – Southwire Alliance Develops Novel Fiber Optic Transmission Conductor (FOTC)

In 1999, ComEd began work with Southwire to investigate a new concept to accurately determine the thermal behavior of overhead transmission lines during operation. It is the conductor temperature that dictates the thermal rating and available clearance under a line. However, as of yet no satisfactory method has been developed that measures conductor temperature axially throughout its length as well as radially.

A novel overhead transmission conductor system that uses optical fibers as an integral part of the phase conductor has been developed by ComEd and Southwire (Patent Pending) and placed in service on the ComEd system.

Operational since February 21, 2002, the 138 kV FOTC system uses distributed temperature sensing (DTS) to measure the temperature of the optical fibers that are embedded in the conductor. DTS allows accurate temperature measurement along the entire length of the FOTC line at different locations within the conductor.

Prior to the field demo, the FOTC system was tested and characterized by the NEETRAC {see UFTO Note, 17Jan02} and Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL). Significant discoveries on the temperature behavior of the transmission conductor under various test conditions were found. For example, the impact of wind on radial temperature drop across a conductor and the impact of solar radiation on a conductor varied significantly from IEEE Std 738 during extreme weather conditions.

Field Trial Installation: The Fiber Optic Transmission Conductor (FOTC) was installed using a special dead-end assembly and an optical insulator. The installation method was the same as a conventional one, except that special care was taken to separate and protect the optical fibers from the conductor at the dead-end location.

The graph shows an example of the temperature data that is available in real-time from the FOTC system. With the FOTC system it is a simple matter to show the temperature of any desired interval lengths of the FOTC line. [graphic: Temperature versus Time Profile of 138 kV FOTC Line]

Utilities have a need to maximize the use of their assets. FOTC provides the medium for utilities to determine the real-time thermal operating limit of a transmission conductor in the most accurate way possible. It also provides the means to transmit data or voice communications. As the utility industry continues to evolve through transmission open access, new innovations such as FOTC will help pave the way to competitive advantage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Southwire will pursue the development and commercialization of FOTC under a license from ComEd. A market study is underway, and in particular the partners want to learn more about how much FOTC can increase transmission capacity, and how utilities will judge the merits and value for use on their own systems.

Contacts for Additional Information
Jim Crane, ComEd, 630-576-7034, james.crane@exeloncorp.com
Gene Sanders, Southwire, 770-832-4988, gene_sanders@southwire.com

Solid State Power Breakthrough

/0 Comments/in , /by

Thermoelectrics Revisited — Again

The bytes were barely dry on the 14 Oct UFTO Note about thermoelectrics (“There is a tantalizing hope that someday someone will come up with a real breakthrough in direct heat-to-electricity conversion.”), and the following day, just such a possible breakthrough came to my attention in an item in EV Progress. (www.EVProgress.com)

The article talked about dramatic claims made at the September Global Powertrain Congress in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a “Power Chip” that would recover from 10-70 KW of the waste heat of a car’s engine as electric power. The technology is a new variant on direct thermal conversion.

Here is a portion the Power Chip’s own press release:
——————–
“Power Chips are discs comprising two electrodes separated by a gap of less than 20 nanometers, through which the hottest (most energetic) electrons tunnel to create an electrical current. Power Chips are silent, nonpolluting, solid-state devices that are scalable as arrays to meet any size power load. They can generate electricity from heat produced by any primary energy source……

They are projected to operate at 70% of the maximum theoretical [Carnot] efficiency for energy conversion, even when converting low-grade waste heat. The only other technology capable of converting such heat directly to electrical output is thermoelectric (Peltier) devices, but the efficiency of production thermoelectric systems is only 5-8%.

Power Chips™ are protected by an extensive patent portfolio covering general theory and specific techniques for quantum thermotunneling and thermal energy conversion. More details are available on the Power Chips plc Website http://www.powerchips.gi, including the full text of issued patents and photographs of prototype Power Chips.

Power Chips™ were invented and are being developed and licensed by Power Chips plc, a majority-owned subsidiary of Borealis Exploration Limited (BOREF). Both companies are incorporated in Gibraltar. Borealis’ business is reinventing the core technologies used by basic industries, including electrical power generation, cooling and thermal management, electric motors, and steel production.”
———————

Not mentioned was the obvious point that if you could do that, you wouldn’t bother with the IC engine in the first place. The company is in discussions with GM, who invited them to participate in the Powertrain conference.

I contacted the company, executed an NDA, and learned a great deal more about it through extensive conversations with management. Actually, the first product is going to be for cooling. (As with thermoelectrics, this process can be used either as a heat pump or a power generator.) It has attracted serious attention of major defense contractors for cooling of critical electronic components.
(See: http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2001/q4/nr_011130a.html)

The parent company is Borealis, an unusual company with a colorful history dating back to an oil company founded in 1924.. There are over 100 employees scattered all over the world, and they draw on many additional institutions and people. The CoolChips subsidiary is already public (COLCF), and PowerChips and other subsidiaries are poised to go public as well. The long technology development has mostly been funded privately by private/family money of the principals, however they now recognize the need to broaden the base of support and involvement. A private offering memorandum is available from the company.

A great deal of technical and business information is available in various areas of the companies’ interlinked websites, powerchips.gi, coolchips.gi, and borealis.gi. The cooling technology was presented at the recent Long Beach 21st International Conference on Thermoelectrics, and another paper is being given today at the “Thermal Management” conference in Dallas. (Both events were cited in the 14 Oct UFTO Note).

Note in particular a new version of their technical overview dated Oct-28 (this is what is being presented in Dallas). Two nanotechnology milestones were reached recently: the fabrication of large conformal pairs of electrodes, and electrodes with excellent local smoothness. The document includes new detailed electron microscope data of the surfaces.
(http://www.coolchips.gi/technology/coolchipstech28Oct02v2.pdf)

The quantum tunneling theory is described in a paper by a group of Stanford materials researchers (I have the pdf if anyone would like to see it–it’s not easy reading unless you’re a quantum physicist–and even then it’s no walk in the park):

“Refrigeration by Combined Tunneling and Thermionic Emission in Vacuum: Use of Nanometer Scale Design”, Y. Hishinuma, T. H. Geballe, and B. Y. Moyzhes, Applied Physics Letters, Vol 78, No. 17, 23 April 2001.

According to their calculations, the basic tunneling process is ideally capable of delivering 95% of Carnot efficiency. The technical overview then goes through detailed analysis of losses, and comes up with a final figure of 70-80% of Carnot overall.

The physics theory is one thing; making a device is another. The company says it has developed reliable means to build such devices — with the unheard-of narrow gaps. Two small production lines are being debugged and ramped up currently.

First deliveries of the initial product are anticipated in a matter of months. It will be a several watt cooling chip, which will be offered for sale at a very high price. The device is said to be capable of delivering temperature differences of over 400 deg K, cooling down to 150 deg K with a hot side of 250 deg C.

If these claims bear out, even partially, it would truly be a game changer. If the devices can be made reliably and cheaply, then little would stand in the path, in every arena of refrigeration, power production and transportation, not to mention electronics. Time will tell.

Thermoelectrics Revisited

/0 Comments/in , /by

There is a tantalizing hope that someday someone will come up with a real breakthrough in direct heat-to-electricity conversion. No moving parts, “solid-state”, self-contained, scalable, and so on. Such miracles do exist, but they are costly and inefficient, and can find use only in specialized niche applications like satellite power, IC chip cooling, novelty items like picnic coolers, and most recently as comfort conditioning in automobiles.

The sought-after breakthrough would be in performance and cost, for example, to “make the internal combustion engine obsolete” and do many other marvelous things. As one example, cold climate utilities have attempted unsuccessfully to use thermoelectic generation to develop self-powered home heating systems which could continue to operate during power outages.

The fundamental underlying processes have been known for a long time, e.g., Thermoelectric (TE) (Seebeck, Peltier), Thermionic, ThermoPhotoVoltaic, etc. NASA, for one, has spent decades fine tuning these for use in space, and a hardy band of scientific, engineering and business people continue the quest. Some companies actually earn a decent living at making and selling such devices, but it is strictly a matter of small niches. Note that TE can be used reversibly to either provide cooling (heat pump) or generate electricity (heat engine).

There are some interesting stirrings of late. For a number of years, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have focused on nanostructures which create one and two dimensional worlds for electrons (known as “quantum wells”), which theoretically should yield higher efficiencies. Experimental results are slow in coming. Last October, the Research Triangle Institute published a major paper in Nature claiming dramatic improvements (in the lab) in TE performance, based on nanolayers of traditional TE materials. Most research in the field has focused on trying to find new bulk materials that have better properties, so this layering approach caught people by surprise. Prior claims to boost “ZT” (the figure of merit for TE) much above 0.7 – 1 haven’t held up, but RTI seems really to have a ZT of 2.4. Such a doubling or tripling of “ZT” could hugely expand the range of applications for both cooling and power — assuming of course that the cost is low enough.

~~~~~~~~
RTI is putting on a conference Oct 28-30 in Dallas:
“Next Generation Thermal Management Materials and Systems – for Cooling and Power Conversion”
Full agenda at: http://techventure.rti.org/fall2002/

* The latest advances in thermal management materials and systems, and how recent developments can spur commercialization.
* Market trends and opportunities for new thermal management technologies in cooling and power conversion – in wide ranging applications – from micro electronics to refrigeration.
* The status of commercial applications – impact on enabling new markets and displacing current markets.
~~~~~~~~~

One of the speakers has recently given a paper at a recent TE conference*. (I have the papers if anyone is interested.) A clever way** of arranging an array of TE modules more than doubles the overall system efficiency for cooling. A commercial product using this technique already is in use, cooling seats of luxury cars. (http://www.amerigon.com/)

(The TE conference* was the ICT2002, held August 26-29, Long Beach, CA. This is an annual meeting of the worldwide thermoelectric R&D community. For a brief account of the conference, see the Sept 30 “ZTSpam” at Cronin Vining’s website:
http://www.zts.com/news/list.php?f=15
Cronin is a renowned expert in TE, and a good friend and colleague of UFTO.)

Besides TE, thermionic and TPV continue to get attention. (In thermionic conversion, electrons boil off a heated surface and are collected on another electrode. In TPV, the heated surface sends out photons of a particular variety which go to a specialized PV cell. It’s PV with its own built-in custom light source, which is heat-driven.) Some of the most promising new developments use nanoscale approaches to overcome traditional obstacles to cost and performance. The “Nano-TPV” work is being done at Draper Laboratory, and involves reducing the spacing between the heated emitter and PV receiver to nanoscale dimensions. Experiments confirm a dramatic increase in the photo current. In another development, Eneco in Salt Lake City continues to make progress on its nanoscale method which they say combines thermionic and TE effects. (See UFTO Note 28 Nov 2001.)

~~~~~~~
** As explained in the papers, the configuration involves (as I describe it) a counterflow heat exchanger where a number of parallel heat pumps push heat from the cold side to the hot side. Each heat pump sees a temperature difference that is only half of the “delta-T” that the overall system provides, leading to higher overall efficiency. Whether this would be practical in a larger system using compressors is hard to say.

Short Subjects

/0 Comments/in , /by

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Features on http://www.UFTO.COM

*Scroll to the bottom of the home page, and click on
“Recommended Reading & UFTO EXTRAS”
*Note the link at the top:
“For a list of newsletters and publications regularly scanned by UFTO, click here.”
Any new ones to suggest?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See below for these items:

*Cleantech Venture Network Issues First Report
*IEEE 1547 Interconnection Standard Passes Ballot
*Army Venture Capital Fund
*New Report on Energy Storage
*New Model to Analyze Distributed Power Projects
*Sag Line Mitigator — EPRI TC proposal

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cleantech Venture Network Issues First Report (See UFTO Note, 26 Jul 2002)

The first Cleantech Investment Monitor was released last week. It reports that investments in “clean” technology companies – ranging from fuel cells to water purification systems exceeded US$500 million in the first half of 2002, more than doubling from Q1 to Q2.. It also lists company investments made during the quarter, and profiles selected companies and investors. Download (27 pages) at:
http://www.cleantechventure.com/

Also the website has much more to offer now, including investor membership sign-up (options include Forum, Deal Flow, and Investment Monitor). Plans for the first venture forum (Toronto, Nov 13-14) are proceeding well. Over 40 companies have applied, and 15-20 will be selected to present.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IEEE 1547 Interconnection Standard Passes Ballot

The IEEE P1547/D10 Draft Standard for Interconnecting Distributed Resources(DR) With Electric Power Systems(EPS) received 90% affirmatives in the ballot that closed September 26, 2002.

Separately, the Standards Board approved new numbers for the three new working groups. Next meeting are in San Francisco October 8-10: (see UFTO Note 09 Sep 2002)

–P1547.1 (formerly P1589) – Draft Standard for Conformance Test Procedures for Equipment Interconnecting DR with EPS
–P1547.2 (formerly P1608) – Draft Application Guide for IEEE Standard 1547 for Interconnecting DR with EPS
–P1547.3 (formerly P1614) – Draft Guide for Monitoring, Information Exchange and Control of DR Interconnected with EPS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Army Venture Capital Fund

Clearly modeled after the CIA’s In-Q-Tel fund (http://www.in-q-tel.com/), the U.S. Army issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to solicit proposals for the operation and management of a not-for-profit, Venture Capital Corporation (VCC). The objective is to improve the business relationships between the entrepreneurial community of high technology innovators and the U.S. Army. This is expected to accelerate the transition of innovative technology into the Army by creating greater awareness on the Army’s part concerning commercial technology development and in the entrepreneurial community concerning the Army’s potential as a technology customer willing to accept innovative solutions to its requirements. The focus initially will be on companies and programs developing power and energy technology applicable to the requirements of the individual soldier.

The BAA was issued Aug 29, and the deadline for proposals was just extended from Sept 30 to Oct 15. UFTO will follow this story with great interest. (I am advising a local VC firm who plans to submit a proposal.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Report on Energy Storage

“Energy Storage: The Sixth Dimension of the Electricity Value Chain”, by Richard Baxter and Jason Makansi, of PearlStreet, Inc.

The report focuses on understanding potential business opportunities and developing long-term market strategies, describing the leading storage technologies (including pumped-hydro, compressed air energy storage, regenerative fuel cells/flow batteries, sodium/sulphur and lead acid batteries, superconducting magnetic energy storage, flywheels, thermal, and hydrogen systems), existing installations, and current market leaders. The 230-page report also includes 87 tables, market insights from leading industry thinkers, outlines of market applications including ancillary services and their impact on existing industry participants, a review of state and regional business opportunities, and forecasts of the impact on the US economy. (20% discount til 30 Nov). For details:
http://www.pearlstreetinc.com/Energy%20Storage%20Report.htm

Contact: Richard Baxter, rbaxter@pearlstreetinc.com, 617.320.0598

In 2002, Pearl Street founded the Energy Storage Council, a non-profit organization formed to support the energy storage community in its effort to accelerate the introduction of energy storage systems and technologies into the marketplace. http://www.energystoragecouncil.org

[Note that the Electricity Storage Association’s next meeting starts this Thursday Oct 10 in Milwaukee. http://www.electricitystorage.org]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Model to Analyze Distributed Generation Power Projects

Competitive Energy Insight (CEI) in San Diego is offering a new tool for the evaluation of DG projects, based on a model they developed for utility and other large scale power plants. EconExpert-DG is a financial model for the complete before and after tax financial analysis of DG and “Inside-the-Fence” cogen projects. The model can be used to evaluate and make decisions on virtually any DG Project or Technology, allowing owners, investors, developers and equipment suppliers to better understand the economic benefits and risks of self-generation. A suite of automated sensitivity functions make it easy to evaluate how changes in current project costs or future market conditions will impact their investment decision. The model also includes many automated analysis functions and on-line help features. The User’s Manual can be downloaded from CEI’s website.

CEI’s EconExpert-LP (for Large Power) is a similar tool for Central Power Station and Merchant Power Projects.

A 30 day free trial is offered to qualified parties. CEI’s website provides additional details and can be reached at:
http://www.CEIInc.NET or www.EconExpert.NET

or contact :
Steve Provol, Competitive Energy Insight, Inc.
858-566-0221, CEIInc@san.rr.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sag Line Mitigator — EPRI TC proposal

UFTO has been following this story for a long time, and they’ve made tremendous progress. [Summary: SLiM reacts to increasing conductor temperature by decreasing the effective length of conductor in the span. This mitigates the natural thermal expansion experienced by the conductor during high temperature operation. The impact is to decrease line sag during such operations.] For a good overview, download this pdf file:
http://www.misolution.com/SLiM%20Story%20080302.pdf

The initial test program went very well, and now plans are underway for utility demonstrations, under an EPRI tailored collaboration project (open to members and nonmembers of EPRI). The project will evaluate the performance of SLiM on three operating transmission lines, and will provide participating utilities with first-hand information on the operational performance of this new kind of line hardware device. For a description of the proposed TC, download:
http://www.epri.com/attachments/286162_1007295.pdf
Contact:
Manuchehr Shirmohamadi, 510-594-0300 x202, MShir@MISolution.com
or Ram Adapa, EPRI project manager, 650.855.8988, radapa@epri.com

Ice Mitigation

/0 Comments/in , /by

— New NASA-developed Anti-Icing Fluids
— Ice-Storm Mitigation Workshop

As we cool down from one of the hottest summers in several years, utilities in the north must look forward to another winter. Back in January, a note appeared in a NASA publication about a new anti-icing fluid that was developed at the NASA Ames Research Center. Midwest Industrial Supply was named as the licensee, so I contacted the company.

Midwest markets a series of glycol-based products which adhere to vertical surfaces and are more resistant to wind, snow and rain dissipation. Less of it falls on the ground and fewer reapplications are needed, so smaller quantities suffice. They call their latest formulation “zero gravity”.

(Note: “anti-ice” isn’t the same as “de-ice”. Anti-ice sets up a barrier to prevent ice formation in the first place, whereas de-ice attempts to remove ice that’s already formed, and usually requires a lot more material be used.)

Midwest’s extensive product line is getting a good reception in mass-transit (especially 3rd rails). The company also markets anti-freezing and dust control products used widely in managing coal piles and conveyors (including at least 3 UFTO utilities)– “Ice Free Conveyor” & “Freeze Free”. (These sales are generally at the plant level- -it isn’t clear if utilities are taking a corporate approach to these purchases.)

Railroads use Midwest’s “Ice Free Switch” product, which could apply just as well to utility switches. Likewise, public transit railroads need help keeping ice off overhead lines, and Midwest is working to add a product for powerlines and towers.

Contact Mr. Shannon Noble, 800-321-0699 shannon@midwestind.com
http://www.midwestind.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midwest will be participating in the upcoming “Workshop on Ice Storm Mitigation”, sponsored by the Canadian Electrical Assocation Technologies (CEATI), Oct 6,7, Monteal
http://www.ceatech.ca/sites2/ice.html
Contact Ms. Laurie Lang, 514 866-5377, lang@ceatech.ca

The workshop will cover the following topics:
– Preparation for Extraordinary Climatic Events
– Lessons to be drawn from recent major system outages
around the world due to catastrophic ice storms;
– De-icing techniques before, during and following ice storms;
– Curent Developments in de-icing techniques;
– Cost effectiveness of load control devices;
– Improvements in design approaches and comparison of
international standards;
– Ice modelling: comparison between the Canadian and
American approaches;
– Ice storm crisis management: Emergency restoration plan
and mutual assistance agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The workshop is part of an ongoing program at CEATI called the Ice Storm Mitigation Interest Group. http://www.ceatech.ca/sites2/tm.html#t2
Contact: Ray Del Bianco, 514-866-5355, delbianco@ceatech.ca

=

Staged Combustion with Nitrogen-Enriched Air (SCNEA)

/0 Comments/in , /by

Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) recently announced they’re developing a unique combustion method that results in lower power plant pollutant emissions, without efficiency penalties, by combining staged-combustion with nitrogen-enriched air.

The SCNEA combustion method burns fuels in two or more stages, where the fuel is combusted fuel-rich with nitrogen-enriched air in the first stage, and the fuel remaining after the first stage is combusted in the remaining stage(s) with air or nitrogen-enriched air. This method substantially reduces the oxidant and pollutant loading in the effluent gas and is applicable to many types of combustion equipment including: boilers, burners, turbines, internal combustion engines and many types of fuel including coal, oil and natural gas.

Results to date are from computer models. The next stage (Phase 1), to be completed in October ’02, is to do a small scale-pilot program involving experimental measurements at a bench scale (10-50 kw) to confirm predictions. Thereafter, Phase 2 will be conducted using commercial boilers and burners with an industry partner.

Provisional patents have been filed for the coal applications, and are in the process of filing on others.

To date, the work has been funded internally by the lab, and they are seeking additional funds (e.g. DOE, industry matching, etc.) to continue. LLNL is in the process of forming a consortium that includes the EPA, DOE, utilities, suppliers to the industry (e.g. boiler and burner manufacturers), engineering design firms, and suppliers of nitrogen enriched air. They are actively encouraging participation from industry.

^^^^^^^
Here is the abstract of a recent 8-page unpublished white paper prepared by LLNL. (I can send the pdf on request).

“A new primary control process for stationary combustion processes is predicted to significantly reduce NOx emissions, reduce corrosion in equipment, and enhance energy efficiency. This combustion method combines the technologies of stage-combustion with nitrogen-enriched air for the oxidant stream in one or more of the combustion stages, and is termed Staged Combustion with Nitrogen-Enriched Air (SCNEA). … SCNEA can replace or enhance currently employed NOx control technologies, such as low-NOx burners, overfire, reburning, and advanced flue gas treatment. SCNEA offers the ability to achieve NOx emission levels lower than levels attained using secondary control methods (e.g. SCR and SNCR) without the use of a catalyst.”

[another excerpt]
“SCNEA utilizes two stages. The first combustion stage is operated fuel-rich so that enough fuel remains for a second combustion stage. Nitrogen-enriched air is used as the oxidant stream in the first combustion stage, which allows precise control of the combustion temperature while producing effluent gases that have a very low oxidant and pollutant loading. The fuel remaining after the first combustion stage (along with the other effluent gases) is mixed with a stoichiometric amount of air and burned in the second stage. The temperature of the second combustion stage is maintained at or below the temperature of the first combustion stage by: (1) controlling the amount of fuel remaining after the first combustion stage (the equivalence ratio of the first combustion stage), (2) using nitrogen-enriched air as the oxidant stream for the second stage, and/or (3) controlling the minimum temperature between the two combustion stages.
NOx levels are significantly lower (1.40×10-2 lb NOx/MBTU) than either of the other single stage methods. Oxidant levels are also significantly reduced (3.30×10-2 lb O2/MBTU, and 6.45×10-6 lb O/MBTU). These advantages are coupled with an improvement in the amount of heat released per scf, i.e. 75.2 BTU/scf. ”

For more information, contact:
Kevin O’Brien, New Business Development
LLNL, Livermore, CA
925-422-7782 obrien14@llnl.gov

Utility Telecom Has a Future – PurOptix

/0 Comments/in , /by

If you are a subscriber to the free daily email from Scientech, you saw this on July 30:
“Telecom: Utilities Remain In the Loop” – By Ken Silverstein
(http://secure.scientech.com/issuealert/article.asp?id=1326)

It begins: “…When some utilities entered the communications loop and began offering fiber-optic services, success was supposed to be a slam-dunk. But the market became saturated with bandwidth capacity and prospects for such achievement became more elusive. In some cases, companies have entirely written off their losses or ceased operations.

But contrary to conventional wisdom, utilities that made cautious investments in fiber optics could turn out to be winners. And while they won’t get satisfactory returns in the short run, the endeavors could pay off over time as the economy rebounds and as consumers demand sophisticated communications offerings that require more bandwidth.”

———

This recalled to mind a company I’ve been acquainted with for some time that may hold interest for those utilities that stand to benefit from the rebound Ken talks about.

PurOptix, Inc. has developed a unique and proprietary network system they call AON (Advanced Optical Network), that allows utilities, telephone and cable companies to offer a variety of services and content on an all fiber-optic based network. They’ve been making steady progress right through the telecom bust, and are set to install their first trial system later this year. They have just completed the first close of an “A” round, and are currently seeking additional investors.

—- Company Overview (adapted from company materials)

Seeing “Fiber-to-the-Home” as the ultimate network platform, and observing that Telco and CATV networks cannot be adapted support the demand for Internet and other services, PurOptix developed a cost effective all fiber-optic system which surpasses PONs (passive optical) networks based on HFC and “shared” architecture.

The PurOptix AON system provides a platform to deliver traditional telephone, television, and Internet services, and new advanced services like interactive and HDTV, Ultra high-speed Internet, true Video-on-Demand, and highly secure VPNs (Virtual Private Network connections). Applications for PurOptix’ Optical Concentrators and Gateways range from enterprise to residential service delivery. PurOptix is initially targeting leading network operators with existing fiber optic infrastructure in the Utility, Telco, and CATV segments that have aggressive plans to advance their telecommunications business.

The AON System delivers bi-directional information at 155 Mbps and provides extremely secure dedicated connections through its Private Virtual Circuit technology. PurOptix has developed strategic relationships with leading hardware and software vendors including Marconi, SGI, and Sun.

The company has secured a Pilot Network Deployment contract with Batelco, the Bahrain Telecommunications Company and is projecting initial follow-on revenues from this engagement of approximately $2 million this year for engineering services, software licenses, and hardware for initial network installations. The Company is in discussions for a contract for production network deployments with Batelco in later this year with rollouts beginning in the first half of 2003. The last-mile optical market is expected to exceed $2.5 billion over the next three years ? a market that is on the verge of a revolutionary change. PurOptix is projecting revenues of $30 million by 2003 and over $150 million by 2005.

Problem/Opportunity–
With billions of dollars spent laying fiber optic cable, network operators have a dire need to leverage this infrastructure by offering revenue generating telecommunications and media-rich services to businesses and consumers. PurOptix’s end-to-end optical solution enables network operators to support a broader offering of voice, audio, video, high-speed Internet, and data communications services in a secure, full duplex environment.

Products/Solution–
The PurOptix AON System family of products provides a scalable community and metropolitan network platform for fiber-optic infrastructures. The proprietary design delivers maximum bandwidth to each subscriber and maximum return for the network operator’s capital investment. The PurOptix system can be implemented as an open network, an exclusive closed network, or any variation therein for delivery of Internet, telephone, television, video and data services.

The first product set, the AON System (Advanced Optical Network), consists of four proprietary technologies ?

1. Network Operating System software running on carrier grade OEM network servers and switches;
2. Low cost ATM concentrator;
3. Optical gateways for commercial and residential applications; and
4. High speed internet enabled-digital settop box.

The ATM concentrator and Optical gateways devices can also be sold and deployed in existing telco and CATV optical network applications serving business customers enabling network operators to seamlessly integrate ISPs, broadband content providers, phone, TV, and other digital service providers via fiber to the home or enterprise.

Markets
PurOptix is first targeting utilities moving to generate additional revenues over existing fiber infrastructure. Then, PurOptix will be the system provider of choice for incumbent telcos and CATV companies to migrate from copper/cable to all fiber optic plant. Internationally, PurOptix is targeting major network operators who are rapidly deploying new optical infrastructure due in part to a global environment of privatization and deregulation. Similar to Batelco, these companies are building only fiber networks in new developments and are aggressively replacing copper infrastructure.

Competition
Manufacturers of PON (Passive Optical Network) technologies have begun to announce field trials and some slightly different Ethernet-based solutions are moving forward as well. Hybrid Fiber/Coax (HFC) and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) systems manufacturers are focused on non-optical plays and are not considered to be direct competitors.

PurOptix’ Competitive Advantage
– PONs face a shortage of upstream bandwidth for delivery of advanced two-way services–they are bandwidth constrained. PON’s additionally are difficult to deploy and have proven to be too expensive (both opex and capex) to be a viable solution on a large scale. The AON System delivers 155 Mbps to and from the subscriber today. HFC and competing fiber solutions are flawed by following a “broadcast” architecture which consumes the majority of the bandwidth available. These systems also restrict network operator’s business options due to the legacy architectures and restricted access models. The AON System manages bandwidth efficiently, is infinitely scalable, and offers numerous flexible business implementations. The flexibility in business modeling stems from the open architecture design which allows for variations from full wholesale implementation to the traditional retail provider deployment.

– Unlike competing solutions, PurOptix AON System is completely secure from the subscriber to any point on the network or any external network node connected via PVCs (Private Virtual Circuit). In addition, the PurOptix devices cannot be cloned or pirated, absolutely barring theft of service on the network.

– Using ATM as the core transport we provide proven reliability and allow for easy integration into most networks today. Equipment can be implemented in standard ATM and SONET networks leveraging the installed base of equipment.

– Upgrades in the future to competitor platforms will be costly due to architecture limitations and limited service capability. The AON System can be upgraded easily as bandwidth needs grow.

The website has detailed technical information:
http://www.puroptix.com

Stan Gafner President & CEO
Puroptix Inc., Carlsbad CA
stan@puroptix.com 760.804.7890 x5101

==================
Subject: UFTO Note- E-lecTrade Enables Trading of Structured Products
Date: Thu, 01 Aug 2002

E-lecTrade has developed a sophisticated solution for buyers and sellers of power to manage and procure complex structured power contracts that cost-effectively and with a proper risk profile meet their needs for the supply and demand of electricity.

Most power contracts are for “standard products”, fixed large blocks of power at constant MWs for many hours(think baseload). Everything else under the load curve (think intermediate and peak) needs to be filled in–with “structured products”. Despite the fact that these needs represent 50% of all transacted power, no efficient process for executing structured power transactions exists. RFPs are messy and time consuming, and most of the need is met on the spot market.

E-lecTrade’s sophisticated technology manages the assembly, evaluation, and buying and selling of “structured products” — contracts to purchase or sell power in which either the volume and price of power or duration of a contract varies over time.

E-lecTrade’s products include ShapedPowerTM, %PoolTM, Swing Options, Generation Tolling, Ancillary Services, Transmission, Real Time Power and Standard Power. In addition, the platform provides real-time risk measurement and portfolio management capabilities including MTM, VaR and Scenario analysis seamlessly integrated with the marketplace. The technology can be used both as principal-driven private marketplace serving its own customers and as an independent exchange. Energy and Power Risk Magazine recently named E-lecTrade the Energy Innovation of the Year.
—— ——
Very recently however, electronic trading has all but collapsed in the US, due to credit risk (and career risk aversion on the part of utility personnel) in the entire power industry, and with it the E-lecTrade’s “runway” to grow the business. As a result, the company is now for sale. Discussions are already underway with several potential buyers.

The original business model was to operate an exchange; 24 companies have already signed up as participants. Now, a new owner of the company would have exclusive control of the software and IP assets, with the option to leave the exchange in operation or not.

For a utility with many large commercial and industrial customers, a private exchange based on E-lecTrade’s unique platform could be a powerful tool to serve customers better in managing their forward structured needs. Large C&I customers could manage their portfolios, get offers from the utility, and even bid to sell power back (i.e. DSM).

I have a six page technical overview document from the company, which I can supply on request. The company website is http://www.e-lectrade.com

For more information, contact:
Anil Suri, President and CEO
E-lecTrade, Inc. Tarrytown, NY

914- 524-7390 aksuri@e-lectrade.com

EESAT’02 Electricity Storage Conference

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Electric Energy Storage Applications and Technologies Conference (EESAT 2002) was held in San Francisco April 15-17, 2002. Ever hopeful for the promise of storage, sponsors point to growth in markets, increased focus on reliability (supply crises and terrorism), and advances in technology. Evidence includes the increasing number of demonstration projects, and estimates that more than 100MW of advanced, distributed energy storage is being installed in North America this year, and another 100MW in Europe and Japan.

Session titles were:
– Overview of Electrical Energy Storage Applications & Technologies
– Multi-megawatt Applications
– Advanced Battery Applications
– Power Electronics and Conversion Systems
– Design and System Studies
– Flywheel Applications
– Capacitor and Super Capacitor Development and Applications
– High Speed Flywheel Development
– Battery Development and Applications

The website has the agenda with the complete list of papers.
http://www.sandia.gov/eesat/
It also provides the agenda from EESAT 2000*. I have the CD of the papers, if you want any of them. The 2002 papers should be available shortly to attendees, and I will supply them as well.
*(29 Oct 2000 UFTO Note – Travel Reports)

The ESA newsletter provides a helpful summary of the conference:
http://www.energystorage.org/archive/Newsletter_May_2002.pdf

And while we’re on the subject, have a look at this comprehensive technology overview:
http://www.re-focus.net/mar2002_4.html

Not on the agenda, but noteworthy: A new lobbying and educational group has formed; the Energy Storage Council promotes public policy that supports energy storage as a key dimension of the electricity value chain. This is the brainstorm of Jason Makansi, former editor-in-chief of McGraw-Hill’s Power magazine. Membership information and a white paper can be found on the website:
http://www.energystoragecouncil.org

Flow Batteries
Perhaps the biggest news is the progess that large scale “flow” batteries are making, both technically and commercially, for large scale systems (100 kw and up). Recall that there are several competing electrochemical schemes. A comparative assessment of flow batteries was provided in a paper by C. Lotspeich based on work done for an E-Source report.

– Regenesys- sodium bromide and sodium polysulphide (ufto note Sep’99)
– ZBB & Powercell – zinc bromine
– Vanteck & Sumitomo/Reliable Power – vanadium redox
– Plurion – cerium vanadium MSA

Except for the zinc bromine, they offer freedom to size a system’s power (kw) and capacity (kwh) separately (either aspect can be added to over time), by adding either cells or electrolyte storage.

Regensys is building their first N American installation at TVA. It will be 12 MW/120 MWH.
http://www.regenesys.com

ZBB’s demonstrations of a transportable system are proceeding well, in collaboration with Detroit Edison. This is 200kW/400kWh battery system, on a 40 ft trailer. The application is grid support. http://www.zbbenergy.com/

Powercell may be revived from bankruptcy. Too soon to tell. Word is that some of the former management team is trying to put it back together.
http://www.powercell.com/

Vanteck has resolved its corporate problems and has a field trial underway in S Africa for a 250 kw/520kWh system. The vanadium technology boasts very high power delivered over milliseconds or slower discharge over days. They’ve also announced a commercial order from Pacificorp. http://www.vanteckvrb.com/

Reliable Power is Sumitomo Electric Intl (SEI)’s presence in N America for SEI’s vanadium battery systems. (SEI is one of the original licensees of the patents.) Size range is 100kw-3MW. UPS *and* peakshaving. Peakshaving earns$ day in and day out, while the UPS sits and waits to deal with a power glitch. Very high power for 3 sec… 3 MW, or 1.5MW for an hour. Meanwhile, Sumitomo has a number of fully commercial systems in operation in Japan.

Plurion, a brand new arrival on the scene, made its public debut at the conference. Its chemistry is based on cerium and vanadium in a “mixed electrolyte” with methanesulfonic acid (MSA). They claim cheaper longer lasting electrodes and membranes, greater simplicity, and lower cost. The system requires neither nafion or precious metal catalysts. Electrolyte management is said to be simpler than in other systems, requiring no ongoing cleanup treatment. Remarkable in the current investment climate, the company raised $14 Million recently, and is on schedule with an ambitious development plan. The technology was developed by Electrochemical Design Associates, Inc (Berkeley CA), and EDA is doing most of the ongoing technical work. http://www.e-d-a.com/ [I have press releases and their powerpoint presentation that I can provide on request.]

Flywheels, Capacitors, Other Batteries

Progress continues on many fronts, with commercial or near commercial applications taking hold. Systems studies examined grid support and ancillary services, microgrids, and identifying best applications and key variables to cost effectiveness.