Capacitech Energy One of Three U.S. Companies Selected for Elite International Competition
Orlando, Fla. – Capacitech Energy’s new method of storing energy in the form of a wire is being noticed around the world as a key to reducing the cost, and increasing the capacity of, energy storage.
Last month, the company was named a finalist in a global contest for energy storage companies – only one of three companies in the Unites States to be named. Just 32 companies made the cut out of the more than 200 that applied.
Capacitech is the only company from Florida to be included as a finalist.
If the company is one of the 15 selected, it will gain access to a network of more than 400 partners, including specialist business angels, 14 major European Cleantech VCs from the InnoEnergy VC community, and main energy corporations. Start-ups also gain board-level advice and mentorship and admission to European energy events.
The top company is awarded €100,000.
“As the world looks to provide more efficient energy solutions, this is one of the top programs to develop new technologies,” says Joe Sleppy, CEO, Capacitech Energy. “We’ve always believed in the technology and now we will be able to showcase it to the world.”
InnoEnergy, with its headquarters in The Netherlands and offices in 9 European countries, works with the European Battery Alliance (EBA) to attract and support start-ups with innovative technology or business model concepts focused on electric storage.
Launched in 2017, the EBA seeks to create a competitive and sustainable battery cell manufacturing value chain in Europe, by working with more than 120 European and non-European stakeholders.
“Europe needs innovative electric storage solutions to support the decarbonisation of transport and heat through electrification,” says Bo Normark, InnoEnergy’s thematic leader for energy storage. “It is our mission to find businesses with unique and innovative concepts, products and solutions that have the potential to be part of the sustainable battery cell manufacturing value chain.”
The technology for building capacitors in a cable form factor was developed the University of Central Florida in 2014. Capacitech, which was formed to further develop the cable-capacitor and take it to market, holds an exclusive license from UCF to the technology.
Capacitech’s cable-based energy storage innovation has endless opportunities.
For instance, it can easily be customized by cutting the wire at different lengths, reducing inventory costs and lead times for distributors. The product is thin and flexible, enabling it to replace capacitors on circuit boards, reducing the board’s size. It can be embedded inside power cords to provide backup power to different systems or complement batteries.
For example, connecting the cable-based capacitor between different stages of a solar power system can significantly extend the operating life of batteries reducing the cost of ownership. The primary IT industry application is complementing batteries in uninterruptible power supply systems.
“Europe is leading the way on innovation in the clean-energy field,” Sleppy says. “Just by participating in the program, we are extremely optimistic on the future of the technology we have developed here in Orlando.”
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For more information media should contact –
Capacitech Energy: Joe Sleppy, CEO, 727-434-1229, joe.sleppy@capacitechenergy.com
InnoEnergy: Laura Iley, Aspectus PR: InnoEnergy@aspectuspr.com
UCF Business Incubation Program: Carol Ann Dykes Logue, 407-207-7426, carolann.dykeslogue@ucf.edu or Alan Byrd, Alan Byrd & Associates, 407-415-8470, Alan@ByrdConnections.com
About Capacitech Energy: Capacitech is bringing a new type of capacitor to market. This capacitor, unlike traditional capacitors, is built on the surface of a copper wire. Its performance is proportional to the length of wire the capacitor is built on. This essentially allows our customers to easily customize the performance (capacitance) of our capacitor by cutting the wire at different lengths. For electronics manufacturing companies, this cable-capacitor technology could significantly reduce costs associated to the logistics/inventory related to ordering, inspecting, and managing capacitors. For more information, visit capacitechenergy.com
About InnoEnergy Business Creation
InnoEnergy Business Creation is a trusted partner and smart investor to accompany start-ups, entrepreneurs and SMEs on their innovation journey throughout the energy sector. We are the go-to partner for co-creating innovative new businesses and successful innovation strategies across the energy value chain.
Our position in the industry and our uniquely collaborative approach helps shorten time to market, mitigate risks, increase the impact of new technologies, and multiply their value. All this for a purpose: creating a sustainable world.
We have supported up to now 200 start-ups, 121 of which are already selling their solutions, and have helped them raise €117m in external funding. Those start-ups have 42 patents files, and their average time to market is just 16 months. After three years, they have a fantastic 97 per cent survival rate.
For more information https://bc.innoenergy.com/
About the UCF Business Incubation Program: The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth/impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has helped more than 390 local startup companies reach their potential faster by providing vital business development resources.
With seven facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties, and the cities of Apopka, Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. For the 2014/15 and 2015/16 fiscal years, the activities of these participating firms have helped sustain more than 4,710 local jobs and have had a cumulative impact of more than $725 million on regional GDP and more than $1.3 billion on regional sales. During the same period, the program has returned $7.41 for every $1 invested in the program. For more information, visit incubator.ucf.edu
