2015 Awardees

Axiom Exergy, ( Stanford/UC Berkeley, now Axiom Cloud) is developing the Refrigeration Battery, an energy storage system for supermarkets and refrigerated facilities that can provide baseload shifting (approximately 100 kW for 6+ hours) away from on-peak hours. The Refrigeration Battery can reduce the peak demand of a supermarket (in kW) by up to 40%. The company will proceed with a major pilot with a major grocery chain to validate the technology.

Energy Adaptive Networks (Caltech, now PowerFlex EDF Renewables) is tackling the growing problem of managing energy distribution on the grid, as more electric vehicles make charging demands on the network. The EAN system consists of open-source chargers with real time sensing and communication capability, online optimization algorithms that compute, minute by minute, the optimal charging rate for every EV in the parking structure, and management software that oversees the charging operation in a garage and includes mobile apps to interact with users and payment systems. The Rocket Fund will enable expansion of a network of 50 EV chargers, under testing in the Caltech parking facilities.

Fluency Lighting Technologies (UC Santa Barbara) offers next generation lighting options with an innovative laser stimulated phosphor light engine for outdoor lighting that provides strong pinpointed light. Testing shows potential savings of 45% less energy, and 60% overall cost savings. The Rocket Fund will enable the purchase of key equipment for conducting a pilot program, in partnership with the National Science Foundation.

Keewi (Stanford), is developing a comprehensive hardware and software system for tackling a major challenge in energy efficiency: plug load energy use. The system provides a hardware and software combination that not only measures current and voltage use ( as well as human proximity) but also incorporates remotely controlled devices linked up to a user –friendly software interface that can be monitored online.