Clean Energy Institute unveils testbeds for clean energy technologies
The state-of-the-art user facility features labs for manufacturing prototypes, testing devices and integrating systems.
The Clean Energy Institute (CEI), a research unit at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle, Wash., created the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds to increase the rate at which breakthrough science and engineering discoveries turn into market-adopted clean energy technologies. The state-of-the-art user facility features labs for manufacturing prototypes, testing devices and integrating systems.
“The process of taking a clean energy research discovery and making a prototype, then rigorously testing and refining it for market readiness, requires equipment and expertise that is expensive to acquire and rarely available when and where you need it,” says Daniel Schwartz, CEI director. “As a result, too many start-ups have great ideas, but fail before fully demonstrating their technology. Amazingly, lack of easy access to facilities and expertise is often a barrier for big companies, too. The Washington Clean Energy Testbeds centralize these resources to help shorten the time between clean energy idea to prototype, while reducing the capital and providing the expertise a company needs to get a viable product in the hands of customers.”