Ballistic Breaker Corp selected to receive a Mass Clean Energy Center Grant

This grant will be my first funding since starting down this road in late 2008. My process started with filing two NYSERDA grant applications and a Round #1 ARPA-E concept paper, then I organized Electric Pipeline Corporation to pursue the elpipe concept in MIT Enterprise Forum's "Ignite Clean Energy" business plan competition (ICE has since joined with the CleanTech Open). Eventually it became clear to me that elpipes (my original concept) are too big to be venture fundable...then I invented Ballistic Breakers in October 2010 and have since pursued development of Ballistic Breaker Corporation as a vehicle to move DC power transmission forward (and to make money & create jobs), as a participant in both the CleanTech Open and MassChallenge in 2011. The initial applications I am pursuing for Ballistic Breakers are in the medium voltage DC (MVDC) area. I am very grateful to Comprehensive Power of Marlborough MA and especially to Frank Jones, President and Founder, for all his support getting to this point. This grant is directed to address a specific Comprehensive Power application involving protection of a large electronic drive for a variable speed motor, similar to that shown in the photograph below. Comprehensive Power will test our prototypes and provide helpful feedback. I believe that Comprehensive Power's participation was instrumental in the success of my proposal, as were the drawings I received from Robert DaSilva of XCraft, Inc., for inclusion in my application and my final presentation May 17, 2012; as shown below. Both Frank Jones and Robert DaSilva will be participants in the execution of this grant.

 In this picture, Roger Faulkner is on the left, Frank Jones (President and CEO of Comprehensive Power) is on the right. We are standing in front of Comprehensive Power's Dynamometer test stand, which is set up here to test >2MW permanent magnet motors (they are tested against one another; one is the motor, the other is the generator). The 1200 volt, 1200 amp Ballistic Breaker I am developing for Comprehensive Power will fit in one of the standard 200X200X800 mm slide-in racks that are behind us in this picture.

email telling me of the award:
 From: "Bernier, Michele" <mbernier@umassp.edu>

To: "roger@elpipe.com" <roger@elpipe.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 10:57 AM
Subject: MassCEC Award status: Ballistic Breaker Corporation

Dear Roger,

The MassCEC and MTTC have reached a decision regarding the MassCEC Catalyst Awards.

You have been selected by our reviewers to receive the award of $40,000 for your proposal titled, “Demonstration of Ballistic Breaker™ for 1200 volt, 1200 amp service". Congratulations!
<snip>

Thank you and congratulations!!

Michele 

Michele Bernier, M.B.A. 

Commercialization Programs Manager

University of Massachusetts

Office of the President

Suite 400

333 South Street

Shrewsbury, MA 01545