Somerville Clean Energy Startup Hits Market With Innovative, Fuel-Flexible Engines
October 19, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Jason Ethier, Dynamo Micropower, 617-870-3962
jason@dynamo-micropower.com
Micaelah Morrill, Greentown Labs, 617-843-5159
mmorrill@greentownlabs.org
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com
Alex Wallace, Boston Engineering, 781-314-0767
awallace@boston-engineering.com
Kathie Mahoney, MassMEP, 508-831-7020
kathiem@massmep.org
Dynamo Micropower Corporation, a privately-held developer and manufacturer of fuel-flexible small gas turbine-based power generation systems for the oil and gas industry, is now producing 25 TurboCore TC700H engines for Multitek North America. Multitek, a leading manufacturer of heavy industrial products such as flameless heaters and forestry equipment, will use the engines in the oil, gas, and construction industries. Dynamo, based in Somerville at Greentown Labs, and Multitek worked together to develop a unique industrial heater around the TurboCore engine, and that heater reduces operating costs by more than 40 percent compared with its diesel competition, at roughly half the weight and size. Dynamo benefited from a partnership between Greentown Labs, MassDevelopment, and the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, along with collaboration with Boston Engineering, to bring this product to market.
“This is the first—and most important—step in commercializing innovative technology,” said Dynamo Micropower Founder & CEO Jason Ethier. “My co-founder and I moved to Massachusetts from Raleigh-Durham, N.C., for Greentown Labs and the abundance of entrepreneurial resources found here. Without an ecosystem of technical and financial partners, it would have taken significantly longer to bring our technology to the market.”
“It is wonderful to see Dynamo Micropower, an early Greentown Labs member company, move from prototyping in our labs to commercialization in the field,” said Dr. Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs. “With this order, we are excited to watch them grow here in Massachusetts.”
The TurboCore engine’s fuel-flexible combustion technology allows it to operate on any gaseous fuel and auto-configures for unprocessed, unfiltered natural gas as well as propane and CNG. The control system dynamically adjusts for changing composition and energy content of wellhead fuels. The company previously produced a scalable sub megawatt flexible-fuel turbine platform that meets the power challenges of oil and gas wells by reducing maintenance and fuel expenses. The turbine operates on associated petroleum gas, propane, or compressed natural gas in a single unit. Dynamo's turbine emissions control exceeds regulatory requirements, while its reliability translates to a lower cost of ownership. MassDevelopment issued a $175,000 revolving bridge loan from the Emerging Technology Fund to finance that project.
“Dynamo’s development and production for Multitek shows what start-up clean energy manufacturers can do in the Commonwealth,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “The company is making engines that are fuel flexible, reliable, and easy to maintain, and larger businesses are taking notice. We’re proud to work with the Commonwealth’s manufacturing and energy network to support Dynamo and other Massachusetts startups as they turn their ideas into products.”
Greentown Labs, MassDevelopment, and the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership have partnered to connect Massachusetts manufacturers and local startups, helping the startups achieve their potential while the established companies can learn about the latest technological trends. Through the MassDevelopment Manufacturing Innovation Grants program, Dynamo selected the Boston Engineering Innovation Center. Boston Engineering’s team of electrical, mechanical, and controls engineers revised the TurboCore’s controls design to cut system production costs, ensure that the design operated seamlessly with both Dynamo and Multitek’s technology, and maintain high performance and reliability.
“Dynamo Micropower’s amazing success reflects not only their intellectual power but also their perseverance, open mindedness and agility to challenge the status quo and leverage connectivity with other complementary progressive companies and resources,” said MassMEP’s Center Director John Killam. “MassMEP, in partnership with Greentown Labs and MassDevelopment, is fortunate to be considered one of these resources.”
“Many start-ups struggle to translate their ideas into products that can be manufactured reliably, quickly, and economically,” said Mark Smithers, co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) of Boston Engineering. “We are proud to work with MassDevelopment to provide the product development expertise and focused resources to support Commonwealth innovators during the critical commercialization process. The Boston Engineering team and I take a tremendous amount of pride in helping companies like Dynamo Micropower take their groundbreaking ideas to market.”
About Dynamo Micropower
Dynamo Micropower, based in Somerville, is a producer of small gas turbine engines. Dynamo sells engines, associated control systems and applications engineering to OEM partners that build reliable, fuel-flexible heat and power solutions. Dynamo Micropower gas turbine engines compete favorably with diesel engines in many applications.
About Greentown Labs
Located in Somerville, Greentown Labs is the largest cleantech hardware incubator in the nation, operating a 40,000-square-foot facility that enables entrepreneurs to solve today’s biggest energy and environmental problems. Greentown's mission is to enable a vibrant community of entrepreneurs to realize their visions by providing access to the space, resources, and funding needed to thrive. For more information, visit www.greentownlabs.com, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
About MassDevelopment
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2014, MassDevelopment financed or managed 314 projects generating investment of more than $2.9 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 6,300 jobs and build or rehabilitate more than 1,600 residential units.
About The Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP)
MassMEP is part of the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership program and a nonprofit organization that believes, given the proper support, manufacturers can challenge themselves and grow strategically, improve profitability, and create competitive advantages. MassMEP supports this belief by providing experiential learning and solution-based support services. Every engagement focuses on both the transfer of knowledge and the successful implementation of this learning for immediate impact on the company. MassMEP also serves as a valuable bridge to other organizations and programs that share a passion for developing technology and creating growth opportunities in a domestic manufacturing environment.
About Boston Engineering
Boston Engineering provides product design and engineering consulting solutions that drive innovation and achieve measurable results. We manage the entire product development process from ideation to supply chain development. Certified for ISO 9001 and ISO 13485, our industry expertise includes consumer products, defense & security, medical devices, robotics, and industrial & commercial products. We are also the Northeast’s largest PTC software reseller. Boston Engineering is headquartered in Waltham with an additional office in the Advanced Technology & Manufacturing Center (ATMC) of the University of Mass. Dartmouth. Learn more at www.boston-engineering.com.