The US Department of Energy Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains has selected Mainspring Energy for an award of $87 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Advanced Energy Manufacturing & Recycling Grants programme, to support the expansion of Mainspring’s manufacturing facility in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The facility will produce the company’s low-emissions Linear Generator, with the capacity to make up to 1000 of the generators annually.
The new, nearly 300 000 sq ft facility will be built adjacent to the Pittsburgh International Airport in Findlay Township. The construction of the building is expected to create nearly 300 jobs, and once operating the facility will employ more than 600 women and men.
Mainspring CEO and founder Shannon Miller commented: “By ramping up production of linear generators … Mainspring can contribute a key role in the nation’s energy transition with a proven and versatile technology for dispatchable power. Once completed, this facility will … help to accelerate Mainspring’s growth as a leader in American clean energy innovation.”
The total investment in Southwestern PA, including building and equipment, will exceed $175 million. The facility, located near a coal-affected region, will employ people in metalwork, machining, and production. Mainspring expects to break ground in 2025.
Linear generators are said to represent an advanced new category of power generation. They use a flameless reaction with near-zero NOx emissions using any gaseous fuel. The product can switch from one fuel to another seamlessly without hardware changes. They are designed to support utilities, data centres, microgrids, commercial and industrial uses, and more.
The generator output is fully dispatchable and scalable from 250 kW to 100+MW. It delivers on the potential of green hydrogen, ammonia, and biogas, as well as traditional fuels such as natural gas and propane. It is fundamentally distinct from an engine or a fuel cell, has the unique ability to directly run on and dynamically switch between any gaseous fuel without retrofit.
The working principle lies between fuel cell technology and AC electrical generation. A central cylinder contains the low temperature fuel cell sitting between two large cylindrical wound coil generators. Fuel and air enter the reaction chamber and its expanding gaseous product acts on the chambers (‘oscillators’ with air bearings) containing the generators, whose magnets are driven outwards through the coils and return, under the action of powerful springs, to end the cycle. That cycle repeats, producing continuous current in the generators.
Founded in 2010 in Menlo Park, CA by three Stanford engineers, the company began shipping its products in 2020 to leading utilities and Fortune 500 companies.
For more info visit www.mainspringenergy.com
