Connecticut is awarding $11.1 million to United Technologies Corp. in Hartford and to Proton Energy Systems in Wallingford to pursue cutting-edge energy research, authorities said Monday.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said the four grants are part of stimulus-backed funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to improve how the nation produces and consumes energy.
UTC research projects commanded the bulk of the award — more than $9 million, Rell said.
UTC got a $2,855,795 grant to develop a water-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning system that employs a novel, supersonic compressor.
The company, partnering with Pall Corp., Polymer Science Associates and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, also received $3,098,765 to explore using a liquid desiccant – material that takes moisture out of the air – and a vapor compression cycle for air conditioning systems primarily for hot, humid climates.
Finally, UTC’s Pratt & Whitney jet-engine division in East Hartford, collaborating with the University of Texas, Clipper Windpower and Sandia National Laboratories, received $3 million to develop a novel “flow battery” — a system that sends chemicals through the battery cell when power is needed. The setup is theoretically 10 times more powerful than previous types, cutting both the size and cost of such systems.
Proton Energy, working with Penn State University, received a $2,148,719 grant to devise an advanced energy storage device incorporating a fuel cell that — unlike most current fuel cells — does not require costly precious metals such as platinum.
