#Energy Commission Receives Thank You from Former Start-up *

The California Energy Commission recently received a thank you note for helping a Bay Area start-up company springboard into the global energy storage market.

Primus Power CEO Tom Stepien thanked the Energy Commission for a $1 million grant that his company received from the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program in 2011 to develop and field test a low-cost, 25-megawatt energy storage system.



Primus, which is based in Hayward, developed what it calls an EnergyPod, which is a series of refrigerator-sized flow battery modules housed in stackable shipping containers. Last year, the company installed its first EnergyPod at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar. The 280-kilowatt (kW) system operates as a microgrid providing energy assurance to the base and integrating renewable energy from the installation�s 230-kW solar generating system into the electrical grid.

The success of the company�s system has led to additional grants and private investments. Primus employs 30 full-time employees in California and Asia and has partnerships with some of the world�s leading electric component and power delivery companies.

Since receiving the Energy Commission grant, Primus has:

• Designed a second generation system with additional power, greater energy, and lower cost
• Received 25 patents issued by seven countries. 
• Installed its energy storage system for industrial customers throughout California.
• Gone international, installing its storage systems in Kazakhstan and signed an agreement with an Israeli manufacturer that installed the technology at a production site in Rancho Cucamonga.

�Your funding has greatly assisted Primus. Thank you,� Stepien wrote in his note to the Energy Commission. �Together, we are creating new jobs, helping California achieve its energy goals and creating a cleaner, more reliable and more efficient electric grid.�

You are quite welcome!