BlackPak Awarded $4.6M ARPA-E Project
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – March 20, 2014 – BlackPak™, Inc., a private technology company developing innovative packaging solutions for natural gas fuel sources, announced today that the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has awarded BlackPak a $4.6M cooperative agreement for the development of its natural gas fuel tank technology under ARPA-E’s Methane Opportunities for Vehicular Energy (MOVE) Program. The BlackPak effort leverages technology developed and spun out from SRI International as part of a prior award under the MOVE program.
BlackPak, together with its partners, ATMI, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATMI) and SRI International, is developing adsorbed natural gas storage systems for automotive and commercial applications with a target system-level energy density greater than 6 MJ/L at 500 psi pressure. Based on advances in engineered nano-porous materials, the technology enables natural gas to be stored in containers that come in a variety of shapes, sizes and configurations. Compared to today’s conventional high-pressure compressed natural gas cylinders, this will allow vehicle designers and equipment manufacturers the ability to integrate natural gas systems that conform to the available spaces in light duty vehicles while maintaining maximum functional utility in the form of usable trunk space.
The BlackPak system under development also targets a significantly lower overall cost and can dramatically improve the return on investment potential for light duty natural gas vehicles and similar applications. Low-pressure storage also has the potential to drastically reduce the upfront capital expenditure and operating cost of such systems, as well as simplify the requirements for tank filling appliances, further improving the comparative economics of adsorbed natural gas systems relative to compressed natural gas, gasoline, and diesel.
About BlackPak
BlackPak is a private technology company based in San Francisco, CA, that was co-founded by ATMI, InnerProduct Partners, and SRI International. For more information, visit BlackPak’s website: www.blackpaktech.com
About ATMI
ATMI, Inc., a global technology company, provides specialty materials, material processing and safe, high-purity materials handling and delivery solutions designed to increase process efficiencies for the microelectronics and other industries. For more information about ATMI, please visit http://www.atmi.com. For more information about ATMI BrightBlack precision-engineered materials, please visit http://www.atmi-brightblack.com.
About InnerProduct Partners
InnerProduct Partners is a specialized fund manager supporting an underserved market for early-stage U.S.-based technology companies in IT, Materials, Energy, and Healthcare. InnerProduct Partners seeks to create value for entrepreneurs and limited partners by investing in compelling commercial opportunities that align with urgent needs of non-dilutive capital sources. In addition, the InnerProduct Partners team, which combines broad technical and industry experience, actively deploys with entrepreneurs to accelerate technology de-risking and the delivery of disruptive products to market. This disciplined human and financial capital approach is expected to benefit both founder-entrepreneurs and investors, enabling the rapid commercialization of new technologies and superior financial returns. For more information, please visit www.innerproductpartners.com.
About SRI
SRI International is a nonprofit research and innovation center headquartered in Silicon Valley. Government and business clients worldwide come to SRI for pioneering solutions in biomedical sciences and health, chemistry and materials, computing, education, economic development, energy, security and defense, robotics, sensing, and more. We provide research, laboratory and advisory services, technology development and licenses, deployable systems, products, and venture opportunities. Our innovations have created new industries and marketplace value, and lasting benefits to society. Visit SRI’s website and Timeline of Innovation to learn more.
About ARPA-E
Please visit http://arpa-e.energy.gov/ to learn more about ARPA-E and the MOVE program.