Jul. 05 2024
We are excited and honored to announce that Dragon Q Energy has won the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) Innovator Grant, an important step towards achieving our mission of empowering people and transforming lives in extreme climates with robust and safe off-grid battery solutions.
The CNSI Innovator Grant is designed for UCSB-affiliated pre-seed and seed-stage startups working on solutions to support California’s climate resilience goals. This grant aims to facilitate the wide deployment of impactful innovations and/or the commercialization of patentable or copyrightable technologies through a startup company, industry partnership, or traditional intellectual property out-licensing mechanisms The grant is divided into a user discovery grant and a proof-of-concept grant. Dragon Q Energy applied for the latter.
The proof-of-concept grant helps bring university-developed innovations like the PowerPole to the real world. It funds activities to demonstrate that such innovations are valuable, feasible, effective, and impactful. The main objective is to collect essential data to commercialize the idea, either by start-up such as Dragon Q Energy or licensing it to an existing company. For openly accessible innovations, the goal is to gather data to promote their adoption and implementation. The grant can be used for various purposes, including salaries, materials, real-world testing, and other necessary activities. It provides up to $50,000 for these efforts over a period of up to 12 months.
Dragon Q Energy aligned well with the CNSI innovator grant through our development of a robust, safe, and efficient battery energy storage system. By re-engineering the system to include a hermetic/inert battery cell environment, our BESS can withstand harsh conditions and prevent thermal runaway, making it suitable for underground installations. This "direct burial energy storage" approach not only enhances safety and durability but also leverages geothermal regulation to maintain performance during extreme heat, unlike traditional systems like the Tesla Powerwall which struggle during peak loads and extreme conditions. Our scalable design ensures reliable clean energy, particularly for underserved communities, making it adaptable to changing climate conditions.
Furthermore, Dragon Q energy aligned with California’s climate resilience goals by developing a battery energy storage system (BESS) that addresses the cost, complexity, and shortcomings of current systems. Our solution aims to provide reliable and efficient long-duration energy storage necessary for achieving California’s target of 100% clean energy generation by 2045. By enabling the storage and redistribution of midday clean energy surplus, our system supports the critical load shifting needed to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Additionally, our system is designed to withstand harsh conditions and natural disasters, making it ideal for underserved and rural communities that often lack reliable clean energy sources. This ensures that even the most remote areas can benefit from renewable energy, aligning with California’s broader climate resilience and sustainability goals.
The Proof-of-Concept grant will play a key role in advancing Dragon Q Energy’s prototype into a minimum viable product (MVP) The funds will support the following areas of development:
Structural Container Engineering and Fabrication: Design and produce a hermetic/inert structural container to withstand harsh conditions and manage thermal events. We will fabricate three containers, complete with essential components, and perform detailed analyses and material acquisitions. Completion Date: August 31, 2024.
Battery Management System (BMS) Development: Integrate the Nuvation BMS into our container, leveraging customer insights to ensure safety and efficiency. This involves purchasing hardware, updating software, and testing on a simulator before live installation. Completion Date: October 31, 2024.
Battery Pack Assembly and Testing: Assemble and test three complete battery packs, focusing on mechanical and electrical performance. Data collected will support customer demonstrations and pilot manufacturing setup. Completion Date: December 31, 2024.
Customer Demonstration and Validation: Install three BESS units in the field with off-grid power systems for customer validation. We will gather operational data and conduct customer interviews to refine our product and update our pilot project and market strategy. Completion Date: February 28, 2025.
The CNSI Innovator Grant marks a significant milestone as we begin on our seed round, targeting a total raise of $750,000. This funding will not only accelerate our growth but also validate the potential and impact of our solutions.
We would like to extend a thank you to CNSI for awarding us the Innovator Grant. Special thanks to Tal Margalith and Sherylle Mills Englander for their support and dedication in making this grant possible.
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