Partnership Expected to Grow Involvement of North American Companies and Expand Energy Innovation Onsite

Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation and its Energy Innovation Center (EIC) are proud to announce the addition of EMerge Alliance as one of the five Founding Members of Innovation Hall and integral to increasing involvement of North American companies in the new Innovation Hall. EMerge Alliance is a nonprofit established to promote the adoption of safe, pure DC and hybrid AC/DC microgrid and nanogrid systems, which often involve on-site power generation, integration and distribution. Innovation Hall is being constructed to serve as a media outlet, an exhibit area and a meeting place for partnering companies to display innovations in the areas of energy, digital communications and data, as well as spurring the advancement of those innovations into the marketplace.

For Innovation Hall, EMerge Alliance, in coordination with LumaNEXT (a Founding Member of Innovation Hall), will develop an operational, community direct-current microgrid within the Hall to serve as an exciting, living energy lab. This onsite microgrid is anticipated to inspire and demonstrate the future of sustainable energy independence and justice for communities.

“There is direct alignment between EIC objectives for this building, the Innovation Hall and EMerge Alliance’s mission to advance direct-current technology and standards,” said Tim Martinson, Executive Vice President and Board Member of EMerge Alliance. “We will be stronger together as EMerge Alliance and EIC bring together industry, academia and member companies to feature innovative technology and influence vanguard standards that shape our collective industries and move them forward.”

The Innovation Hall, and particularly the live microgrid, are anticipated to host pre-URL listed equipment by companies associated with EMerge Alliance. The microgrid will help bring the living lab to life with cutting edge technology. Beyond educating individuals passing through the facility, the space showcases the value current products and services already play, and why developing vanguard standards is key to securing their place for a more sustainable energy future.

“The Energy Innovation Center is a 200,000 square-foot proof of concept space on innovative adapted reuse,” said Reginald Cox, Facility Operations Manager and Program Coordinator for Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation. “This partnership with Emerge Alliance in Innovation Hall helps to ensure we are a living-working lab for today’s technology and tomorrow’s innovation.”

Each of the Founding Members are participating in the final space design and equipping of Innovation Hall. Every element of the operation of the Hall, the function of the two-level space and display of content will represent innovations by the Founding Members and partnering companies.

The cutting-edge design of Innovation Hall is captured in the concept drawings prepared by LumaNEXT. Andy Peck, President of LumaNEXT, sought to design a space that fosters an environment for creative thinking and the gathering of cross-disciplined talent necessary for collaboration in the innovation process, in addition to providing a media link to the global innovation arena.

Bob Meeder, the CEO and President of Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation and Energy Innovation Center, LP, is looking forward to the collaborations that will result from EMerge Alliance’s becoming a Founding Member of Innovation Hall. “I predict that the Member Corporations of the EIC Innovation Hall, including the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Engineering, will soon be announcing a collaboration with two Housing Developers that will demonstrate net zero operating systems,” Meeder said.

Contacts for further information on the Energy Innovation Center and its Innovation Hall:
Bill Miller –  bmilller@pghgateways.org; Reggie Cox – rcox@pghgateways.org; Andrew Peck – andyp@lumanext.com; Tim Martinson – tmartinson@emergealliance.org

About Energy Innovation Center
Designed and equipped by corporate partners, this 7.0 acre urban complex promotes energy-sector research and innovation while creating direct and deliberate bridges to job creation, entrepreneurship and urban economic revitalization. The energy technology innovation cluster in the Pittsburgh region has a promising future. World-class capacity exists here in areas ranging from carbon management to nuclear reactor design, wind turbine manufacturing, materials and sensors, electric power distribution and control, shale gas production, district energy, green building and advanced building systems.

About EMerge Alliance
EMerge Alliance is an open industry association leading the rapid adoption of safe, resilient, economical, and sustainable direct current and hybrid AC/DC distributed energy microgrid and nanogrid power systems for buildings and communities. Part of its mission is to:

• Develop Vanguard System Standards via commercial, government and academic member organizations for hybrid AC/DC microgrids and nanogrids to accelerate deployment of flexible, sustainable, resilient electric power systems.
• Catalyze fast market development via education and technology demonstrations of new microgrid electric products and services.

About LumaNEXT
LumaNEXT is an EMerge member and provider of power management systems and smart lighting based on low voltage DC microgrids and  power distribution solutions. LumaNEXT is driving a revolutionary concept in power management and lighting for retail, industrial, and office environments. LumaNEXT helps customers to reduce their energy costs by up to 70% while providing a, maintenance-free systems that provides more light than traditional systems yet uses a safe and efficient low-voltage power source.