Key demonstration of energy storage to enable Marine base microgrid

HAYWARD, Calif.--Primus Power, a leader in multi-megawatt, multi-hour, grid-scale electrical energy storage, was awarded a contract by Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) business to deliver and support an electrical energy storage system for a microgrid at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) in Miramar, California. Primus will work closely with Raytheon as part of the "Zinc Bromide Flow Battery Installation for Islanding and Backup Power" project funded by the Department of Defense Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESCTP).

A microgrid is a self-contained electrical grid comprised of energy generation, distribution, storage and loads all managed by an automated control system on a remote or secure location, such as a military base. Energy storage systems are a key enabler to integrate intermittent solar and wind energy into a small grid. Growth for microgrids is being driven by security threats, natural disaster concerns, increase in electricity from renewable energy sources, and the need for secure and reliable power.

At MCAS Miramar a Primus Power 250 kW - 1 MWh Primus EnergyPodTM will be integrated with an existing 230 kW photovoltaic system. The combined microgrid system will demonstrate several capabilities including reducing peak electrical demand typically experienced in weekday afternoons and providing power to critical military systems when grid power is not available. "The DoD is adopting microgrids at stationary bases to sustain operations independent of what is happening on the larger utility grid," said Tom Stepien, CEO of Primus Power. "Primus Power's energy storage systems can shift, shape and firm electricity. Our systems have the unique combination of safety, cost and performance attributes that make them an ideal choice for microgrids such as Miramar's. The selection of our system by MCAS, Raytheon and ESCTP underscores the value of our solution."

Primus Power's containerized flow battery systems are designed to meet the needs of military installation applications. "Primus Power's technology promises to help enable the performance, reliability and low ownership cost essential to military installation applications," said David Altman, Lead Program Manager at Raytheon IDS. "Raytheon chose Primus after a detailed competitive assessment of alternative technologies and is proud to partner with them on what we believe will be an important demonstration."

MCAS Miramar is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Mick Wasco, MCAS Miramar Energy Manager, emphasized "dependable power is absolutely essential to our operation. Ruggedized energy storage systems like Primus' EnergyPodTM will go a long way to providing uninterrupted power. We are looking forward to installing the system in mid-2014 and the potential thereafter."

About Primus Power
Primus Power is a leader in cost effective, utility-grade energy storage solutions with a safe, scalable, distributed system that economically serves multiple storage applications. With patented innovations in chemistry, cell design and system engineering, the Company's EnergyPods™ offer exceptional power density and portability at industry-low prices. Primus is the only company to receive government grants from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), and the California Energy Commission (CEC). Its technology stands to revolutionize the economics, stability, and security of the electric grid, while accelerating the incorporation of renewable wind and solar energy. Primus is headquartered in Hayward, California. For further information, please visit us at www.primuspower.com and follow on Twitter @GridStorage.

About ESCTP
ESTCP is DoD's environmental technology demonstration and validation program. The Program was established in 1995 to promote the transfer of innovative technologies that have successfully established proof of concept to field or production use. ESTCP demonstrations collect cost and performance data to overcome the barriers to employ an innovative technology because of concerns regarding technical or programmatic risk, the so-called "Valley of Death." http://www.serdp.org/About-SERDP-and-ESTCP/About-ESTCP