UNC Charlotte and SineWatts win second SunShot Incubator Award

October 23, 2014
Categories: Research Tags: EPIC, Lee College of Engineering, Research

SineWatts Inc., a clean-tech startup company based in Charlotte, in collaboration with UNC Charlotte’s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) as its primary research partner, has been selected for a second Incubator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to develop its Inverter Molecule product.

SineWatts’ patent-pending Inverter Molecule is miniaturized for co-packaging with a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel. It is a proprietary all-in-one DC-to-AC (PV to grid) solar power converter. By using the Inverter Molecule device, a solar power plant significantly reduces installation cost and utilities are able to dispatch PV power plants like conventional power plants.

Faculty members from the William States Lee College of Engineering, led by Babak Parkhideh, assistant professor of electrical and computing engineering, along with Robert Cox, assistant professor of electrical and computing engineering, and EPIC Director Johan Enslin will assist SineWatts during the technology development phase.

“Our students will gain invaluable experience as they participate in the development of this game-changing technology for PV power plants and be leaders themselves in the solar industry,” said Enslin.

Parkhideh leads the advanced power electronics team in its development of both the technology and field deployment. Cox is developing the communications platform and advanced analytics for improved plug-and-play performance and efficiencies.

SineWatts also has engaged the services of the University of Arkansas and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory for this phase.

The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national effort that aggressively drives innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade. Through SunShot, the Energy Department supports efforts by private companies, universities and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour.