Summary: What’s it all about? Flow batteries have had their technical and commercial challenges over the years, so it’s good to see that the technology is really starting to get traction in that 6-12 hour storage category. It’s also good to hear a good traditional ‘started in my garage’ cleantech start-ups story, just watch for the EPA. This week I talk to Craig Evans about scaling a the flow battery technology and company of ESS Inc. About Craig Evans: Craig Evans is the President and CEO, and a founder of ESS Inc. Having started ESS from his garage in 2011, he led the company to the commercialization of the Iron Flow Battery system in 2016. Prior to ESS, Craig was the Director of Design & Product Development at ClearEdge Power Inc. His team designed the ClearEdge5, a 5kW combine-heat-and-power fuel cell system, which was successfully commercialized in 2010. This product received both CSA International certification in North America and KNREC certification in Asia. Craig began his career at United Technologies Corporation (UTC) where he held technical leadership positions in their Fuel Cell business and, prior to that, as a project engineer in the Pratt & Whitney aircraft engine business. In 2006, He was awarded the distinguished George Mead Award, the highest honor for individual engineering achievement at UTC. Craig Evans has authored over 15 patents and patent applications. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University, an MS in Finance from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A from Carnegie Mellon University. About ESS: ESS’s mission is to bring to market the cleanest, lowest-cost long-duration energy storage systems. Which are the catalyst for a sustainable energy future. Established in 2011, ESS Inc. manufactures low-cost, long-duration iron flow batteries for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications requiring 4+ hours of flexible energy capacity. Our long-duration energy storage platforms, the Energy Warehouse™ (EW) and Energy Center™(EC), use iron, salt, and water for the electrolyte, and deliver an environmentally safe, long-life energy storage solution for the world’s renewable energy infrastructure. Based in Wilsonville, Oregon, ESS Inc. was founded by a team with deep experience in fuel cells, electrochemistry, advanced material science and renewable energy. After five years of intensive innovation, engineering development and rigorous testing and validation, with the backing of ARPA-E and others, the company began shipping turnkey energy storage solutions that allowed companies and municipalities to control their own energy future in 2015. With its safe, earth-abundant, proven all-iron flow battery technology, ESS is helping project developers, utilities, and EPCs make the transition to more flexible non-lithium-ion storage that is better suited for the grid and the environment. Social links: Craig Evans on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigeevans/ ESS Website: https://essinc.com/ ESS on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ESS_info ESS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/energy-storage-systems/ EPISODE LINKS ‘All-iron’ flow battery maker ESS Inc launches ‘configurable’ megawatt-scale product https://www.energy-storage.news/news/all-iron-flow-battery-maker-ess-inc-launches-configurable-megawatt-scale-pr The Unknown Universe: A New Exploration of Time, Space, and Modern Cosmology- Stuart Clark https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1681774461/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i8 Follow us online, write a review (please) or subscribe I'm very keen to hear feedback on the podcast and my guests, and to hear your suggestions for future guests or topics. Contact via the website, or Twitter. If you do enjoy the podcast, please write a review on iTunes, or your usual podcast platform, and tell your cleantech friends about us. That would be much appreciated.
