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Wright Builds Off-Grid Power Lab

Greetings!

Wright recently made a new addition to our facility in upstate NY: the "Off-Grid Power Lab."

Over the past two years, we've been applying our aerospace technology to the U.S. Department of Defense: they need lightweight equipment, and our motors and generators are among the lightest in the world for their power output. As we've worked more with the DoD, we've learned that one of their biggest challenges is powering bases that aren't connected to the utility grid.

Being off-grid presents multiple issues, such as cost, power reliability, and ease of deployment. To address this, Wright worked with innovators in the U.S. Air Force to develop the Off-Grid Power Pallet, which is a bank of batteries and inverters connected to two of Wright's ultra-power-dense generators, all built into a standard 463L aircraft pallet for ease of transport. The OGPP creates a seamless and low-cost micro-grid even when the utility grid doesn't exist. It accepts power from solar, wind, shore, and generators, and it outputs to AC, DC, and electric vehicle charging.

Off-grid power sources benefit operators by reducing reliance on fixed infrastructure, which is regularly targeted for attack. Providing our customers with off-grid power allows for energy supply in regions where grid power is inaccessible, limited, or unreliable.

See below for a depiction of Wright's OGPP:

To test these technologies, Wright developed a simulated wear-and-tear laboratory outside our main facility. The lab is built into a shipping container and has two sides: one side houses the equipment under test, and the other has data logging instrumentation. Exposed to New York's diverse weather conditions, including heat, cold, rain, and humidity, the test section serves as the proving ground for Wright's Off-Grid Power Technologies. This lab allows the testing of AC input/output, DC input/output, battery storage, EV fast charging, and renewable energy technologies.

The Wright Off-Grid Power Lab

Since developing the OGPP for the U.S. Department of Defense, Wright has found other applications in humanitarian and telecom missions. The increase in severe weather due to climate change has made more regions susceptible to natural disasters. Wright's mobile off-grid power technologies enable disaster and emergency response groups to provide resilient energy to areas in need, helping mitigate the detrimental impact of such events.

The commercial potential for Off-Grid Power Technology is expansive. Many entities aiming to install EV charging stations face obstacles: utility providers may lack the necessary capacity or infrastructure to supply the required power, while the cost of a grid connection can be prohibitive, particularly in remote or underserved areas. Our system offers scalable and customizable options that can adapt to the diverse power demands of EV charging stations.

Director of Electric Machines, Earl Fairall, says, “Grid infrastructure capable of supporting electric vehicles has always been one of the biggest challenges hindering growth in the EV industry. Wright’s Off-Grid Power System is exciting because it provides a low-carbon footprint solution to a big challenge facing commercial automotive and commercial energy production. The new Off-Grid Power Lab accelerates this program.”

If you're interested in learning more about Wright's Off-Grid power solutions, please reach out to Ken Wolowitz at ken.wolowitz@weflywright.com.

Wright is supported by DOE, NASA, and DOD.

Wright is Hiring! Chief of Staff and Summer 2024 Interns Just Added

Chief of Staff to the CEO
Summer 2024 Interns: Masters or PhD level students in power electronics, electric motors, chemical engineering, electrochemical design, and aerospace engineering.

If you are interested or know someone who might be, please feel free to reply to this email or send resumes to hiring@weflywright.com. You can visit our careers page for more information and other open roles: https://www.weflywright.com/careers.

Thank you!

Electrically,
Jeff and Team Wright