INERGY HOLDINGS, LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF203-CSO1

Description

Inergy is a leader in consumer portable solar generator products offering ultra-lightweight, compact and portable energy storage systems. Existing products range from a 25 Watt-hour handheld personal unit (10 oz) that charges personal phones and devices to a troop-level system that provides one kilowatt-hour (25 pounds) to 96 kWh of stored power and outputs 1.5kW (single phase) to 6kW (split phase) continuous output. This project will militarize Inergy's existing consumer products by bringing them up to military standards and integrating Inergy's patent-pending "Energy IQ" algorithms to create and store energy generation and usage analytics and Inergy's "nano grid" controller that allows for clusters of Inergy's connected solar generator systems can become mini-utilities in island or grid-connected modes. Offering a modular and expandable GaN-based (with outstanding on-resistance and parasitic capacitances, voltage break-down, temperature thresholds) military and consumer "energy in a box" provides renewable and abundant electrical power from solar/wind/hydro or small fuel generators. This modular design allows for the mixing and matching of converters, charge controllers and battery modules, is the most scalable system in the consumer market. Users can start with a basic AC power control unit and one battery module to provide 1 kilowatt-hour of basic personal solar power. To expand this system, Users would simply "snap on" additional 1 kWh battery modules (to 96 kWh) or more MPPT charge controller units to allow for more solar charging to expand the system from a personal scale to a company-level power system.  It's simple modular controller, battery and accessories modules can be quickly and easily repaired by swapping out faulty units. The modular components also allow systems to be reconfigured and adjusted for different effects-based operations. Embedding microprocessor-based micro grid controllers in these solar generators adds additional levels of integration, control, distributed energy management, and on/off-grid operational capabilities. Such integration will enable up to 256 storage systems to operate in parallel in the form of a small-scale integrated grid and makes the networked system smarter and capable of power sharing, power balancing, peak shaving, and load shaping. The secured IoT features of the Home Base not only allows for remote management and on-base microgrid compability but also the collection, transmission and aggregation of systems usage, generation and other data elements for analysis and reporting. Providing light weight, fast, and reliable power, the HB will enable military personnel to operate in austere and degraded environments while consuming fewer valuable transportation and logistics resources that can be better used to provide additional combat power or disaster relief resources. The simple system can be given to civilian communities to use during emergencies or disaster relief efforts.