Energy
PR Newswire | October 26, 2023
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between GSA and Southern Company to develop carbon pollution-free electricity (CFE) options for federal facilities in Southern Company's service territories. The MOU documents the intent of GSA and Southern Company to collaborate on development of a roadmap that, when executed, will lead to federal agencies in that region buying more CFE and achieving reliability and resiliency objectives outlined in Executive Order 14057 [lnks.gd].
The Biden-Harris Administration is leading by example to tackle the climate crisis through President Biden's Federal Sustainability Plan, which establishes an ambitious path to achieve 100% CFE for Federal government operations by 2030, including 50% on a 24/7 basis, along with aggressive goals for electric vehicles and net-zero emissions buildings.
said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan.
This is our fourth MOU with a utility company and it's another example of how GSA is leading by example in tackling climate change, using our buying power and real estate footprint to move markets, create demand, drive efficiency, and catalyze efficiency and clean energy innovation. Through smart partnerships with energy service providers, we can help advance sustainability, create jobs, save taxpayer dollars, and ensure a healthier planet for our kids.
[Source:PR Newswire]
"Today's announcement delivers on President Biden's vision to build a new economy powered by clean energy—one that creates well-/paying jobs for American workers, healthier air for communities, and increases our energy independence," said Andrew Mayock, the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer with the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Southern Company has a goal to reach a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030, from 2007 emissions levels, and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Currently, the United States Army is the largest federal customer served by Southern Company.
"The Department of Defense and the Army are committed to using carbon-free energy to support our national defense mission," said the Honorable Rachel Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of the United States Army, Installations, Energy and Environment. "Distributed Carbon-free energy generation–when integrated into a modernized grid that includes large-scale storage, upgraded transmission lines, and enhanced cybersecurity controls - is the best way to promote resilience so we can continue to deploy, fight, and win the nation's wars. The Army applauds the GSA-Southern Company agreement. The agreement demonstrates the exact kind of collaboration that is key to improving the reliability and resilience of the commercial grid and achieving our carbon-free energy and readiness goals."
"Southern Company recognizes the importance of developing and supplying carbon-free electricity as we continue our efforts toward our goal of reaching net zero by 2050," said Chris Womack, CEO and president of Southern Company. "Through industry-leading innovation and a commitment to a net zero future, we are delivering sustainable and resilient energy solutions that help drive growth and prosperity. This partnership will serve as another important step toward these goals."
GSA will continue to engage with Southern Company and other utilities to explore the advancement of potential CFE solutions including solar, battery storage, nuclear power, on-site generation and new sustainable technologies like clean hydrogen.
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Energy
TDK Ventures | December 19, 2023
TDK Corporation (TSE: 6762) announced today that subsidiary TDK Ventures has invested in battery and charging system innovator Exponent Energy and its reimagining of EV battery technology, tailor-made for the Indian last-mile logistics market. Coming fresh off helping build the 2W EV OEM Ather, now a highly valued EV startup in India, Exponent Energy founders Arun Vinayak and Sanjay Byalal Jagannath have led a top-notch team of technical experts to bring a much-needed solution to the Indian battery market, where cost efficiency and last-mile logistics are crucial.
Exponent's proprietary energy stack – comprised of the battery pack (e^pack), charging station (e^pump), and charging connector (e^plug) together unlock a 0%-100% rapid charge, in 15 minutes for EVs and a 3000-cycle lifetime warranty using regular LFP cells. Exponent partners with OEMs to integrate its e^pack to create a rapid charging variant and sets up a network of e^pumps for users operating in logistics to seamlessly charge their Exponent-powered EVs.
In the last 9 months, its technology has achieved product market fit with customers in India, with over 500 Exponent-powered EVs covering over 3 million kilometers and completing 60,000+ rapid charging sessions.
Energy transformation shouldn't be restricted to a subset of society; decarbonization is important for everyone, and through its technology, Exponent Energy provides greater access to energy-transformative technologies. That is exactly why TDK Ventures partnered with Exponent Energy: to support both organizations' mutual vision for improving tomorrow through technology. The TDK Ventures team hopes to scale Exponent's solution and help accelerate their development.
Exponent Energy CEO, Arun Vinayak stated, "Mobility is about freedom and accessibility. To unlock EV adoption at scale, we need EVs to charge faster, last longer, and cost a whole lot less. Our mission to simplify the broken energy ecosystem and provide greater access to energy-transformative technologies struck a chord with TDK – making this a perfect partnership. We're excited to work closely together to transform the EV industry."
Nicolas Sauvage, TDK Ventures President commented, "I was impressed by Arun and his talented team when I met them in their office in Bengaluru earlier this year. Exponent's groundbreaking achievement in crafting an economical and scalable 15-minute rapid charging solution utilizing standard LFP cells is revolutionary, allowing electric vehicles to adopt a more compact battery pack that can swiftly charge within a concentrated public charging infrastructure, effectively removing range anxiety. We share the vision of expanding rapid charging accessibility at a reasonable cost, making electric mobility an option for everyone. This collaboration represents an exciting stride toward a more sustainable and electrified future."
About TDK Corporation
TDK Corporation is a world leader in electronic solutions for the smart society based in Tokyo, Japan. Built on a foundation of material sciences mastery, TDK welcomes societal transformation by resolutely remaining at the forefront of technological evolution and deliberately "Attracting Tomorrow." It was established in 1935 to commercialize ferrite, a key material in electronic and magnetic products. TDK's comprehensive, innovation-driven portfolio features passive components such as ceramic, aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors, as well as magnetics, high-frequency, and piezo and protection devices.
The product spectrum also includes sensors and sensor systems such as temperature and pressure, magnetic, and MEMS sensors. In addition, TDK provides power supplies and energy devices, magnetic heads and more. These products are marketed under the product brands TDK, EPCOS, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics and TDK-Lambda. TDK focuses on demanding markets in automotive, industrial and consumer electronics, and information and communication technology. The company has a network of design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America. In fiscal 2023, TDK posted total sales of USD 16.1 billion and employed about 103,000 people worldwide.
About Exponent Energy
Led by Arun Vinayak & Sanjay Byalal, Exponent Energy aims to simplify energy for EVs. The company has built a battery pack named e^pack; charging station called e^pump; and charging connector e^plug that together unlock a 0 to 100% charge in 15 minutes for EVs with any number of wheels & provide a 3000-cycle life warranty – all while using regular Li-ion cells to make rapid charging truly affordable and scalable.
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Products
PR Newswire | January 05, 2024
Digital Power Optimization, Inc. ("DPO") a developer and operator of green data centers announced the binding execution of a power purchase agreement with a major, multinational producer of renewable energy (the "Seller"). The Seller owns a number of large renewable power assets, including multiple 150MW+ wind farms in Texas. Under the new power purchase agreement, DPO and the Seller expect data center deployments to reach 100MW in total size and extend across as many as six of the Seller's Texas wind assets.
Unlike most traditional computing facilities procuring clean power through virtual PPAs or offsets, DPO's data centers will draw power behind the meter, directly from the renewable wind generation facilities. Funding for the first phase buildout at the initial project site has been secured and data center operations are expected to begin in 2024, with the remaining sites coming online over the following 12-18 months.
DPO's CEO, Andrew Webber, commented, "We're extremely pleased to have this PPA finalized and the project now officially underway. We have been running a pilot on-site for this power producer for over a year now and have developed an outstanding partnership with them. Together, we crafted a custom and innovative PPA structure which creates zero-cost economic upside for the Seller while bringing to life some of the cleanest and most sustainable computing facilities on Earth for DPO's investors and data center tenants."
Since 2020, DPO has worked directly with power producers to utilize power-dense computing functions like Proof-of-Work network security and AI training as a more profitable physical offtake for undervalued power. DPO is the only company in the world to have developed and operated data center projects behind the meter on wind, solar, hydro, and natural gas plants, as well as grid-connected facilities.
About Digital Power Optimization
Digital Power Optimization is a leading developer and operator of green data centers for power-dense computing. DPO partners with utilities and IPPs to locate data center facilities on-site at power generation plants to directly utilize renewable energy for the operation of HPC/AI and Proof-of-Work computing. DPO is privately held.
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