Energy storage, energy efficiency, and renewable energy

The mega-trends of global warming, population growth, improving lifestyles in the developing world, and commodity shortages are driving the desperate need for innovation in the cleantech space.

PARC’s cleantech innovation program is focused on delivering scalable, cost-effective solutions that draw on a unique combination of multi-disciplinary competencies and experiences. We're diligently working on a wide range of initiatives, from energy storage to energy efficiency and renewable energy.

PARC's key enablers

Energy Storage

CoEx for Structured Battery Electrodes (using co-extrusion printing)

PARC offers a proven co-extrusion printing technique, CoEx, that can enhance both the energy and power densities of batteries. A cost-effective way to manufacture structured electrodes, this technique can be applied to both cathodes and anodes for most mature battery chemistries.

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CoEx for Other Applications

PARC’s novel co-extrusion printing technique offers low-cost mass manufacturing to create micron-scale surface area features that improve the efficiencies of solar cells, batteries, fuel cells, thermoelectrics, superconductors, nuclear fuels, and more. 

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Printed Integral Battery

PARC offers a novel co-extrusion printing technique that enables the printing of a full-thickness battery cathode, anode, and separator in a single pass to dramatically improve battery performance and reduce production costs. The development of this technology is associated with the OPEN 2012 program award granted by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

download information sheet in English | Japanese
read release

Battery Management Systems

PARC is developing a cost-effective solution for embedded high-fidelity, real-time battery sensing to provide unprecedented accuracy in measuring State of Charge (SoC) and State of Health (SoH). The development of this technology is funded by the award granted by the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) under the program for Advanced Management and Protection of Energy Storage Devices (AMPED).

download information sheet in English | Japanese
read release / download release
view video

Energy Efficiency

Adaptive Energy Control Systems

PARC is developing advanced control systems capable of optimizing the value of energy assets in complex, multi-dimensional operating environments. In applications ranging from vehicle power systems to grid-tied batteries, PARC’s Adaptive Energy control systems rigorously co-optimize the value and performance of energy assets.

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read case study: Power Assure

Smart Grid

Fundamental shifts in the electric power landscape are leading to tremendous business opportunities. Yet despite recent progress with demand-side services, the full potential of loads remains largely unexplored. To address the unmet need and emerging market for fast-acting demand-side services, PARC has developed a Fast Demand Response (FDR) system solution. The distributed control technology implemented in FDR allows large numbers of small loads to work in concert to provide larger aggregate energy services while minimizing inconvenience to users – enabling small, flexible loads to participate in larger markets and provide high-quality energy services.

download white paper: Fast Demand Response

3D Thermal Mapping

PARC is developing a portable thermal mapping system that generates detailed measurements registered on a 3D map of a building or structure, making its use ideal for energy efficiency audits.

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High-efficiency Cooling

PARC offers a zero global warming potential (GWP) thermoacoustic cooling system with efficiency comparable to conventional vapor-compression cooling systems.

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Renewable Energy

Solar

PARC provides solar cell fabrication and research services.  We have a comprehensive prototyping infrastructure on-site and significant experience successfully developing technologies that lowered cost per watt in the solar PV area.  We leverage expertise in printing, optics, semiconductors, materials and processing to innovate and transfer our technologies to solar companies.  

download information sheet on "Cost-effective Production of IBC Solar Cells" in English | Japanese
download information sheet on "Low Resistance Contact for Silicon PV Cells" in English | Japanese
download information sheet on "Large Area Micro-optics for Solar Energy" in English | Japanese
read case study: SolFocus / download related white paper: Cost-competitive solar electricity

Renewable Liquid Fuels

While technologies are being pursued that produce CO2-free power, a complementary approach is to capture the CO2 emitted by existing power sources. The captured CO2 can then be sequestered underground, used for industrial processes, or used as a component of synthetic fuel. Atmospheric capture of CO2, however, is difficult due to the low atmospheric concentration of CO2 (0.039%). To address this challenge, PARC has developed technologies capable of capturing CO2 at atmospheric concentrations and delivering it at high concentrations. More recently, PARC is developing technologies capable of capturing CO2 from the sea. Seawater contains a vast resource of CO2 at higher concentration than is found in air. PARC has demonstrated the use of bipolar membrane electrodialysis to extract CO2 from seawater.

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Geothermal

PARC’s geothermal rock-fluid interaction system for modeling and evaluating wells and reservoirs could significantly reduce the risks and costs incurred during development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), a potential vast source of base-load renewable energy. Our system provides better understanding of hot rock-fluid interactions, through more realistic simulations that mimic extreme conditions not currently achievable with other systems.

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