Industry Support Award Recipients:
SEED Initiative, Round 3

Agrivida, Inc.
Cambridge, MA

Agrivida is developing biotechnology that will produce corn and other crops containing inactive enzymes. The enzymes remain dormant while the plant is growing but can be activated on demand after harvest. Their first product is a modified corn plant containing the enzymes necessary to support ethanol production with lower cost than traditional processes. This technology can be extended to other crops as well as other chemical processes.

Agrivida’s near-term market is ethanol production, but they are also pursuing a long-term opportunity recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy and other scientific councils:  the photobiological production of hydrogen.  With SEED proceeds Agrivida intends to attain several key technical milestones. 

Applicable Renewable Energy Technology:

Biomass

SEED Investment:

$300,000

Premium Power Corp.
North Andover, MA

Premium Power (PP) has developed a Zinc-Bromide (Zn-Br) regenerative fuel cell, or flow battery.  The chemical reactants are stored externally and then pumped as needed into cell stacks consisting of bipolar plates separated by a polymer frame. The reaction is reversible, there is little degradation over thousands of cycles, and full discharge does not damage the battery.

With SEED funding, Premium Power proposes to scale their stacks into a large-scale Zinc-Flow® 9000 system suitable for integration with renewable energy sources such as wind and PV for load-leveling.

Applicable Renewable Energy Technology:

Energy Storage/Fuel Cells

SEED Investment:

$500,000

Seahorse Power Corp.
Winchester, MA

Seahorse Power Company (SPC) provides off-grid, solar-powered, industrial strength solid waste compaction using sophisticated energy management techniques. SPC is currently producing and selling the BigBelly, a solar-powered compacting public trash receptacle that reduces collection frequency while reducing litter from overflow.

SPC intends to use SEED proceeds to take from concept to prototype a dumpster-sized solar powered compactor powered by the Hippo Power Pack product, that would provide the efficiencies of larger-scale compaction without using AC power.

Applicable Renewable Energy Technology:

Solar

SEED Investment:

$500,000

Stellaris Corp.
Andover, MA

Stellaris has developed Concentrating Photovoltaic Glazing (CPG) technology. This technology focuses most diffuse light and all direct light onto narrow strips of photovoltaic (PV) material. No tracking device is needed. For a given electrical output, this reduces the amount of PV material required over conventional modules.  A CPG module also allows natural light to pass through and presents new opportunities in creating aesthetically-pleasing building-integrated solar products.

With SEED proceeds, Stellaris will continue product and manufacturing design and construct and test models.

Applicable Renewable Energy Technology:

Solar

BTU International is a leading supplier of advanced thermal processing equipment for the global semiconductor, printed circuit board assembly and energy generation markets. The company produces a wide range of equipment for semiconductor packaging applications, including state-of-the-art systems for wafer bumping and die-level packaging. BTU also is a major manufacturer of solder reflow systems for printed circuit board assembly. In addition, BTU manufactures equipment for the energy generation markets, including systems related to solar, fuel cell and nuclear fuel applications.

With SEED funds, BTU International intends to develop a materials system for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells, in partnership with Boston University. The company will also develop a high- and intermediate-temperature processing system that reduces manufacturing costs while increasing the fuel cell’s power density and lifetime.

CTP Hydrogen is developing an innovative low-cost, single-step hydrogen reformer for use in distributed generation and small-scale portable generation applications.

The key technology is a mixed ionic electronic ceramic conducting membrane. With this membrane, CTP Hydrogen intends to develop a reformer capable of producing pure hydrogen directly from sulfur-bearing hydrocarbon fuel streams in a single step.

Safe Hydrogen is developing a technology for the safe and efficient transportation and delivery of bulk quantities of hydrogen. The $410,000 SEED award will be used specifically as a cost-share for a multi-year R&D contract that Safe Hydrogen has won from the Department of Energy.

Safe Hydrogen proposes to store hydrogen in the form of a magnesium hydride slurry to enable hydrogen fueling using existing delivery infrastructure.

Ze-Gen is developing an advanced biomass gasification technology that can turn organic and inorganic waste into a synthetic fuel for power generation and other recycled products. The company intends to build a modular, turn-key system that will allow for a range of waste management and power applications.