Fluidic Energy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 in Tempe, Arizona |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Steve Scharnhorst (CEO) Ramkumar Krishnan (CTO) |
| Website | fluidicenergy |
Fluidic Energy is a corporation based in Scottsdale, Arizona that develops metal–air rechargeable batteries. The company sells systems for energy storage applications from rural electrification to critical backup power[1] and has strong ties throughout the US, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.[2][3] In March 2015 the Company signed a deal with Caterpillar, which included an equity investment in Fluidic Energy as well as a commercial agreement to collaborate in the microgrid and telecommunications markets.[4] Over the following year, the company announced two separate MOUs for some of the largest renewable-energy rural electrification projects of their kind.[1][2] The Company is dedicating its operations to “paving the path for the smart, sustainable grid of the future.” [5]
The company is selling its systems as a replacement for diesel generators or lead–acid batteries in markets where the electricity grid is unreliable, or remote areas without electricity access.[6] In current applications, Fluidic is claiming significant advantages over traditional batteries. These advantages include safe systems with longer life, lower costs, higher temperature ranges and deeper depth of discharge capability.[4]
In November 2013, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group announced its $7 million investment into the company.[7] In 2013, the firm also closed a private funding round of $34.5 million, while in 2011 it raised $33.4 million.[6]
Prior to that, Fluidic had received funding from both private sources and two grants from the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-e) of the United States Department of Energy.
Fluidic Energy has received two separate grants through the ARPA-e Office. The first ARPA-e grant of $5,133,150[8] was led by Arizona State University out of the FOA1 program and was focused on ionic-liquid-based metal–air batteries (MAIL batteries).[9] The second ARPA-e grant, of $3 million was led by Fluidic out of the GRIDS program and was focused on an Advanced Multi-functional Energy Storage (AMES) system based on Fluidic's metal–air platform.
