Newswise — CHARLOTTE. N.C. - Oct. 23, 2014 - SineWatts Inc., a cleantech startup company based in Charlotte, N.C., in collaboration with UNC Charlotte’s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) as its primary research partner, has been selected for a second Incubator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to develop its Inverter Molecule™ product.
SineWatts’ patent-pending Inverter Molecule™ is miniaturized for co-packaging with a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel. It is a proprietary all-in-one DC-to-AC (PV to grid) solar power converter. By using the Inverter Molecule™ device, a solar power plant significantly reduces installation cost and utilities are able to dispatch PV power plants like conventional power plants.
The William States Lee College of Engineering faculty members led by assistant professor of Electrical and Computing Engineering Babak Parkhideh, and consisting of assistant professor of Electrical and Computing Engineering Robert Cox and EPIC Director Johan Enslin will assist SineWatts during the technology development phase. “Our students will gain invaluable experience as they participate in the development of this game-changing technology for PV power plants and be leaders themselves in the solar industry,” said Enslin.
Parkhideh leads the advanced power electronics team in its development of both the technology and field deployment. Cox is developing the communications platform and advanced analytics for improved plug-and-play performance and efficiencies.
SineWatts has also engaged the services of the University of Arkansas and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory for this phase.
The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national effort that aggressively drives innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade. Through SunShot, the Energy Department supports efforts by private companies, universities, and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour. To learn more, visit http://www.energy.gov/sunshot.
The Energy Production and Infrastructure Center at UNC Charlotte is a collaborative, multidisciplinary entity that is uniting the academic and research expertise of the university with the energy industry resources in the Charlotte region.
###
For more information, contact Dr. Shiba Bhowmik, CEO, SineWatts, Inc. at [email protected] or Dr. Johan Enslin, Director, Energy Production & Infrastructure Center (EPIC) at 704-687-5397 or [email protected]
RSS