Lead Performer: Leaptran Inc. – San Antonio, Texas
Partner: The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) – San Antonio, Texas
DOE Total Funding: $149,698
Project Term: June 12, 2017 – March 11, 2018
Funding Type: Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 Release 2
Project Objective
Leaptran Inc. will develop an integrated and interoperable control and communication software platform that proactively manages distributed energy systems and optimizes the total cost for building owners while maintaining reliable grid operation. The project team will develop adapters for battery management system (BMS) and building energy management system (BEMS) based on an open message bus design. Programmed in open source platforms to accomplish the optimized control, the project team will demonstrate a proactive energy management system as the final goal. The project result will ensure the applicability and scalability of such solution in a wide range of building and micro-grid situations. The solution will as well benefit utility companies for grid-level energy storage testing and interoperability.
Project Impact
This project will effectively co-optimize building management systems and battery energy storage systems (BESS) in an open-source and scalable platform. Proactive energy management with predictive control enabling a more efficient use of solar generated power and flexible loads can offer larger ROI and accelerate the adoption of such technologies. As a result of this project, the building industry and utility companies will obtain the first insights into how commercial and industrial buildings can respond to grid requirements on ancillary services and demand response considering building energy management collectively and interactively.
This is a joint project with the Solar Energy Technologies Office.
Contacts
DOE Technology Manager: Marina Sofos, Sven Mumme
Lead Performer: Jeff Xu, Leaptran Inc.