MICROGRID TECHNOLOGIES COMPETITION

-- ROUND 2 --

ALASKACENTERFORMICROGRIDTECHNOLOGIESCOMMERCIALIZATION

6/23/2017

COLLABORATORS:

ALASKACENTERFORENERGYANDPOWER,BUSINESSENTERPRISEINSTITUTE,

UNIVERSITYOFALASKACENTERFORECONOMICDEVELOPMENT,AND

ALASKASMALLBUSINESSDEVELOPMENTCENTERATTHEUNIVERSITYOFALASKA

FUNDEDBY:

U.S.ECONOMICDEVELOPMENTADMINISTRATIONUNDERGRANT:ED15HDQ0200002,

ANDOFFICEOFNAVALRESEARCH

UNDERGRANT:N00014-16-1-2533,WITHMATCHINGFUNDSPROVIDEDBYTHEALASKACENTERFORENERGYANDPOWER

ANDBUSINESSENTERPRISEINSTITUTEATTHEUNIVERSITYOFALASKA

PLEASESENDALLINQUIRIESTOACMTC.QUESTIONS@ALASKA.EDU

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Microgridsareeverywherefromairportstomilitarybasestoremotecommunities,andthemicrogridmarketispredictedtoriseto$35.1billionby2020(TransparencyMarketResearch,2016).Alaskaishometomorethan200smallcommunitymicrogridsandapproximately12%ofthedevelopedmicrogridsintheworld.Theseremotecommunities,specificallythelocalutilities,areveryinterestedintheintegrationofnewtechnologiessothatthecontributionsofrenewableenergiesintheirsystemscanbeincreasedandtheuseofexpensivedieselfueldecreased.Privatecompaniesandothersolutiondevelopershaveaninterestinconfirmingthattheirtechnologycanoperateefficientlyinremoteareas,coldweather,andharshconditions.

Toaddresstheseneeds,theAlaskaCenterforMicrogridTechnologiesCommercializationhaslaunchedacompetition for companies whowant to improve their technology for use in remote and/or austeremicrogridenvironments.

Throughthiscompetition,ACEPwillprovideservicesvaluedupto$308,000tocompanieswhoare

interestedinR&Dsupporttoacceleratecommercializationforproductsintendedtoimproveoperation

andtechnicalefficiencyofmicrogrids.

Figure1:Componentsofanislandedmicrogridsetup

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The Rewards

MicrogridProject* TechnologySeedSupport**

Upto40daysR&DintheACEPPSI(PowerSystemsIntegration)Laboratory

R&Dtocommercializationreview

(Labdayseithergoingto1projectorbesplitbetween2projects)

3smallprojects(foreachwithupto125man-hours)

Thecompetitionwillhaveoneortwograndprizewinner/sthatwillreceiveupto40daysofR&DtimeintheACEPPowerSystemsIntegrationLaboratory.ThisincludesR&Dsupportandin-systemtestingoftheir technology, to prove its feasibility, and improve it for use inmicrogrids around theworld. The

competitionwillalsoawardupto125man-hoursforR&Dsupportto3smallerprojects.

ThroughtheuseoftheAlaskaCenter forEnergyandPower’s facilitiesandexpertise,we’llhelpyouproveyourtechnologyanditsfinancialfeasibilityforusearoundtheworld.

*R&D time for the grand prizewinner includes access to ACEP Power Systems Integration (PSI)Laboratoryandassociatedstaffforin-systemR&Dandtestingoftheirtechnology.Labdaysawardedcanbe expended on R&D and review work, retooling of the PSI Lab and installation of the winner’sequipment(costofmaterialsexcluded),andoperationofthelaboratoryforin-systemR&Dandtesting(PSILabequipmentoperatedsolelybyACEPStaff).

** Technology Seed Support is limited to R&D support (e.g., drafting, specification development,identification of necessary improvements, support of software development, interface specification),design reviews and consulting with the objective of accelerating a successful commercializationtrajectory.

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How to Apply

Step1:Submit“ExpressionofInterest”

If you’re interested in the competition, please submit your information in a questionnaire athttp://bit.ly/2rpeJXLtoletusknowaboutyourproject,yourneeds,andhowwecanreachyou.Onthequestionnaire you can also request free and confidential business advising through the Alaska SmallBusinessDevelopmentCenter(SBDC).

Asthecompetitiondeadlineapproaches,wewillsendyouupdatesandreminders.

Expressionsofinterestaredueby:August2nd,2017.

Step2:ReviewofEligibilityRequirements

We’relookingforprojectswiththepotentialofabigeconomicimpact.Tomakesurethatwe’retakingon the best projects, we’ve assembled an independent advisory team that will review projects foreligibility.

Tobeconsidered,applicantsmustsubmitthefollowingitems1:

• Atechnology,product,orservicedescription

• Aprojectplan

• Afinancialplan

• Acommercializationplan

• Amarketanalysis

1FullapplicationinstructionswillbemadeavailabletothoseregisteredinStep1priortotheopeningoftheapplicationperiod.

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QualifiedApplicantswilldemonstratethat:

• The project will positively impact microgrids by increasing technical efficiency, renewablecontribution,andstabilityofmicrogridsystems

• Theprojectcanbeconductedwithinnecessarytechnicalandsafetyprotocols

• The project can be completed within the budget and within 12 months (grand prize), or 6months(smallawards)oftheaward

• Theprojectwillleadtothecommercializationofaproduct,service,ortechnology

• The applicant provides matching funds through either cash or in-kind support through theprovisionofgoodsand/orlabor2

• Intellectualpropertyrightstotheproductorserviceoriginatewiththeapplicant

Preferencewillbegiventoapplicantswhodemonstrate:

• Thepotentialforlargeeconomicimpact,i.e.,reductionofenergycostinremotemicrogridsandcreationofjobsintheU.S.EDAWesternRegion3,withpreferenceonAlaska

• Aproofofconcept,aprototype,and/orintellectualpropertyownership

• Businessownershipand/orabusinessplan

• AletterofendorsementfromanAlaskanutilityfortheirtechnology

• AphysicalpresenceintheU.S.EDAWesternRegion

2webinarsarescheduledwheretheapplicationprocesswillbeexplainedandwherequestionscanbeaskedbypotentialapplicants.Furthermore,requestsfor informationaboutanypartoftheapplicationprocessorsimplyarequestforhelpcanbeemailedtoacmtc.questions@alaska.eduatanytime.

Step3:SubmitaFormalApplication

WeanticipateourformalapplicationperiodtobefromAugust2nd,2017toSeptember1st,2017.

SendanelectroniccopyofyourapplicationinPDFformat,andfollowingtheapplicationguidelines, toacmtc.competition@alaska.edu4.Applicationsthatdonotfollowtherequestedformatoraremissingrequestedinformationwillberejected.

Emailshavetobereceivednolaterthan11:59PMAKDTonSeptember1st,2017tobeconsidered.

2Allowablematchingfundsare:provisionofcashforadditionalACEPstafftimeand/orlabtime(seebudgetworksheetforrates);in-kind:internallabornottoexceedindustrytypicalrates,andprovisionofadditionalsupplies(valuedatacceptablemarketrates)necessaryforintegrationofequipmentinPSILab(applicableonlyforgrandprize,laborforinstallationbyACEPstaffwillbebilledagainstawardorcashmatch).3U.S.EDAWesternRegionisdefinedas:Alaska,Arizona,California,Hawaii,Idaho,Nevada,Oregon,Washington,AmericanSamoa,NorthernMarianaIslands,Guam,FederatedStatesofMicronesia,Rep.ofMarshallIslands,Rep.ofPalau.4Donotusethisemailaddressforgeneralinquiries.

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Selection and Testing

SelectionofthetopprojectswillbeginonSeptember4th,2017andwinningapplicantswillbecontactedviaemailbyNovember10th,2017tofinalizeanycontracts.Anadditionalpitchpresentationmayberequiredforasubsetofapplicantsintheabovetimeframeshouldthereviewteamdeemthisnecessarytomakeselections.Aminimumofonebusinessdaynoticewillbegiveforpitchpresentations.

Disclaimers

Workiscontingentuponavailabilityoffunding,eligibility,andlegalrequirements.

LaboratoryR&DandtestingiscontingentuponsafetyreviewbyACEPstaffandapprovalbyUniversityofAlaskaFairbanksEnvironmentalHealthandSafetyandRiskManagement.

AllpersonspresentinthelaboratoryduringR&DandtestingarerequiredtoprovidetheirownPPEinaccordancewithgeneralandspecificlaboratoryrules.

AwardswillbemadeunderaMasterAgreementissuedbytheUniversityofAlaskaFairbanks.Thismasteragreementwillincludetimelines,servicesprovided,scopeofwork,andtimeandmatching/in-kindbudget(seeAgreementbetweenUAF/ACEPandAwardeeforgeneralterms).TheMasterAgreementforeachawardeewilldetermineIPownership,theworktobecompleted,andthemethodofcollaboration.

Successfulapplicantsarerequiredtoaccepttermsandconditionsprovidedintheawardcontract.Thesetermsarenotnegotiable.

AllfundsawardedwillbespentatACEP.Awardswillnotbemadeincashoractualmonetaryfunding,butinformofR&Dman-hoursorlaboratorytime.