“Development to Demonstration: Results and Experience Using a ZnBr Flow Battery for a Microgrid” Mr. Ryan Faries

Improving energy security and reducing consumption are key strategic objectives of the Department of Defense (DoD). Commercial power grid vulnerabilities and intermittencies of available renewable resources pose challenges to DoD’s objectives. Low-cost, large-scale energy storage systems (ESS) are potential solutions to overcome these challenges. Energy storage may enable off-grid "islanding", improving energy security through grid-independent operation.

The objective of this project was to demonstrate the energy security and cost benefits of implementing a zinc bromide (Zn/Br) flow battery-based ESS at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar. Raytheon led the project to integrate innovative Zn/Br flow battery and Intelligent Power and Energy Management (IPEM) technologies with the existing MCAS infrastructure to increase energy security, provide an islanding capability, and reduce energy use and costs. This webinar describes the results of the demonstration and discusses the lessons learned in how this technology can be implemented on a larger scale.

“Bosch Direct Current Building-Scale Microgrid Platform” Mr. John Saussele

The Bosch DC Microgrid architecture is a building-scale solution which maximizes the utilization of solar photovoltaic (PV) generated electricity in a facility by eliminating the need for the DC to AC and AC to DC conversion equipment required in typical AC-based systems. This makes the overall system more reliable, reduces the lifetime maintenance, and provides a built-in mechanism for islanding critical DC loads during grid outages without the need for complex transfer switches and grid synchronization. By transitioning the majority of a building’s AC loads to a DC microgrid, a commercial customer can expect up to 30% lower total cost of ownership, higher reliability, improved resiliency, and optimized utilization of renewable generation when compared to a traditional AC solution. Utilizing this technology, Bosch and its partner companies have just completed installation of a DoD building-scale demonstration at Fort Bragg, and will be validating the performance of the system shortly.

Speaker Biographies

Mr. Ryan Faries is a Systems Engineering Manager with 14 years of experience in materials engineering and systems engineering. Mr. Faries currently operates as a Department Manager within the Systems Development Center for the Space and Airborne System business. He manages a group of 120 systems engineers responsible for providing system architecture, performance modeling/simulation and project leadership primarily for electro-optical products and technology. Mr. Faries is the Principal Investigator for an ESTCP project to install a microgrid demonstration at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California. He was a team leader for the Raytheon company-wide Enterprise Campaign for Power Technology. He has two patents pending related to energy management applications. Mr. Faries has a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Engineering from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, a Master of Science degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, and a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Mr. John Saussele is the Director of Building Grid Technologies at Bosch, currently focusing on building-scale Direct Current (DC) microgrid activities. A 25+ year veteran of Bosch, he has held a variety of positions within the company including Chief Engineer, with the responsibility for developing highly reliable and cost-effective electronic products for automotive applications. He was also responsible for launching the solar energy division of Bosch in North America. Mr. Saussele is the Principal Investigator for a Department of Defense (DoD) funded 3-year demonstration of a DC microgrid at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which focuses on the energy security benefits of the Bosch architecture when adapted to DoD facilities. He earned an Electrical Engineering degree from the General Motors Institute in Michigan (now Kettering University) and holds several patents related to incorporating solar PV into DC building microgrids.