— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Mike Bremel, director of engineering and customer solutions for Madison-based Alliant Energy.
Bremel discusses a new energy storage project being developed in Columbia County that relies on compressed carbon dioxide to store up to 10 hours worth of energy. It’s being built in the town of Pacific near the existing Columbia Energy Center.
The utility company in September announced the project had been selected for up to $30 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
“This is going to be the first of its kind in the United States,” Bremel said. “There is one other operating facility over in Sardinia, Italy, that the company put together as their initial test project. And this project that we’re putting together is to test the commercial viability of a large-scale project.”
Bremel explains the “simple, reliable and efficient” technology that underpins the system, developed by the Italian company Energy Dome. It works by compressing CO2 gas into a liquid form to store energy, which can be used by converting that liquid back into a gaseous form to power a turbine, creating electricity.
According to an overview from Alliant Energy, this provides an emissions-free “closed loop” battery system that can power about 20,000 Wisconsin homes.
“It has a 75% round-trip efficiency that’s expected from the facility, which means we expect to get 75% of the energy out after the conversion process,” he said. “Relative to long-duration energy storage projects, it’s near the top in terms of round-trip efficiency.”
Listen to the podcast here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/wisbusiness-the-podcast-with-mike-bremel-alliant-energy/
See the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts: https://www.wisbusiness.com/category/podcast/
See more on the technology: https://energydome.com/co2-battery/
— The winner of this year’s Elevator Pitch Olympics is Dirac Labs, a Madison-based startup using specialized sensors to identify underground mineral deposits.
Co-founder Aishwarya Das yesterday pitched the business to a panel of investor judges and a crowd of attendees at the Early Stage Symposium in Madison, an annual event held by the Wisconsin Technology Council. He and other competitors were given 90 seconds to make their case before being rated on the strength of their company and presentation.
“Imagine a world where you can pinpoint Earth’s underground natural resources without leaving a scar on the planet,” he said. “Current mineral exploration is like finding a needle in the haystack. It’s costly, ecologically damaging and has a less than 1% of success rate.”
The company is developing “quantum sensors” that can detect tiny changes in the planet’s gravitational field to find hidden deposits of valuable minerals. Its method is non-invasive and more precise than traditional ways of finding minerals, according to Das. And its sensors can be mounted to a drone, offering advantages over surveys done on the ground or from aircraft, he said.
“Our sensors can be used to find critical battery metals like lithium, nickel, copper, cobalt and precious metals and minerals like gold, silver and diamond,” he said, adding that lithium exploration efforts alone have risen 90% over the past year.
The business has previously raised funds from venture capital investors in India, and is now seeking $1.5 million for a pre-seed round of funding.
While Dirac Labs is initially targeting the mining industry, its technology could be used for a wide range of applications such as GPS-free navigation and finding water aquifers or hidden tunnels, Das said.
The second-place finalist in the Elevator Pitch Olympics was Sygmatic, a foreign language learning platform, while audience members picked Spectacle Health as their favorite. This startup has a platform to assist people with enrolling in Medicare plans.
See more on Dirac Labs here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dirac-labs/about/
See the full list of presenting companies here: https://wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/emerging-firms-will-pitch-over-two-days-at-2023-early-stage-symposium-in-madison/
See more coverage from the Early Stage Symposium: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/investor-panel-discusses-funding-landscape-offers-advice-to-startup-leaders/
— The USDA is providing nearly $400,000 in grant funding that will benefit organizations in Wisconsin that offer technical assistance programs for companies in the state.
In a release yesterday, the federal agency announced more than $1.2 billion in loans and grants, including the awards in Wisconsin.
UW-Madison’s Board of Regents is getting just under $200,000 through the Rural Cooperative Development Grant program to provide technical assistance to startup cooperatives and established co-ops in food systems, forestry, manufacturing, child care and veterinary services.
Meanwhile, the Cooperative Development Foundation is getting a $175,000 Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant to help home care co-ops in rural areas owned by women and Native Americans, according to a release. The grant will impact rural parts of Wisconsin, Washington, Minnesota and California.
See the full list of awards here: https://www.rd.usda.gov/media/file/download/usda-rd-rural-cooperative-chart-11092023.pdf
— Cheesemakers from Wisconsin walked away from this year’s World Cheese Awards with a quarter of all awards presented, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin announced.
In a release yesterday, the organization said Marieke Gouda of Thorp got the most awards out of all U.S. competitors at the recent contest in Norway, having been recognized for a dozen gouda cheeses.
Cheesemaker and Netherlands native Marieke Penterman returned to her home country to learn how to make authentic Dutch gouda cheese after getting her cheesemaking license in Wisconsin, according to a release.
In a statement on the results, DFW Senior Vice President Susanne Fanning said the state “continues to call to national and international artisans alike, and we are so very proud of the rich, flavorful award-winning cheeses that are produced here.”
The competition included 4,000 different cheeses from more than 40 countries.
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report…</b></i>
— The Alzheimer’s Association this year has awarded nearly $450,000 in Wisconsin for research aimed at fighting the disease.
<i>For more of the most relevant news on COVID-19, reports on groundbreaking health research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com.</i>
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#TOP STORIES#
# Housing shortage holds back Dane County cities, mayors say
# Wisconsin business titans rally for UW-Madison College of Engineering expansion
# Stellantis site in Bay View could attract ‘hundreds of millions’ in redevelopment
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Dairy insights summit to tackle industry shifts
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=992&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– Progress on big public works projects may hinge on 2024 election
# EDUCATION
– Wisconsin GOP official questioned over no-bid contracts from MPS
# ENVIRONMENT
– Biden advisor visit highlights Wausau to tout efforts on water quality
# FINANCIAL SERVICES
– Financial planning for new farm ventures
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=993&yr=2023
# FOOD AND BEVERAGE
– In Wisconsin, old fashioneds come with brandy. Lawmakers want to make it somewhat official
– New downtown Milwaukee steakhouse sets December opening date
– A new taco and birria joint opens at Military Avenue
# HEALTH CARE
– Childhood trauma linked to faster aging in adults, UW study finds
# MANAGEMENT
– Gale Klappa to shift roles at WEC Energy Group
# POLITICS
– Senator Baldwin helps communities in rural Wisconsin upgrade water infrastructure
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=994&yr=2023
– Wisconsin Assembly slated to pass $2 billion tax cut headed for a veto by Gov. Tony Evers
# REAL ESTATE
– Boston Store redevelopment at Southridge nearly ready, but one big hurdle remains
# REGULATION
– Owner of Whiting paper mill faces $55K fine from employee’s death
# RETAIL
– Rude Brew Kombucha moves into Bur Oak
– Groppi’s store in Bay View sold to local owners
# SPORTS
– Here’s the story behind Marquette basketball’s new court at Fiserv Forum
# TECHNOLOGY
– Firm led by investor, serial entrepreneur Andy Nunemaker prepares for Saas product rollout
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
AWSA: Names Butler Middle School’s Jeffrey Taege as Wisconsin Associate Principal of the Year
Wisconsin Oven: Ships two horizontal quench systems to the semiconductor industry
