SiEnergy Systems LLC, a Cambridge company that looks to commercialize solid oxide fuel cell technology from Harvard University, said that it was recently selected to receive $2.65 million in funding from a US Department of Energy agency.
SiEnergy Systems is seeking to develop a thin film solid oxide fuel cell, or SOFC, for the mobile and small power generation markets.
Fuel cells are considered ideal for distributed power generation systems, which generate power close to where it is used. Distributed generation systems are an alternative to the large, centralized power generation facilities or power plants that are currently commonplace.
One goal of distributed power generation systems that rely on fuel cells is to significantly reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
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“While centralized power generation systems have an excellent economy of scale, they often require long transmission distances between supply and distribution points, leading to efficiency losses throughout the grid,” the company said in a Friday press release. “Additionally, it is difficult for centralized power systems to balance power generation with the grid demand in the presence of intermittent renewable power sources. Fuel cells provide efficient power generation capability as well as improve grid stability through local balancing of the power supply and demand.”
SiEnergy will get its $2.65 million in funding from ARPA-E, an agency within the US Department of Energy. ARPA-E invests in ideas to create America’s future energy technologies.
ARPA-E recently announced $33 million in funding for 13 new projects, including SiEnergy Systems, aimed at developing transformational fuel cell technologies for low-cost distributed power generation.
SiEnergy Systems is a subsidiary of Boston-based Allied Minds, which funds, manages, and builds companies based on technologies developed at US universities and federal research institutions.
Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com.