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Spider9 Inc. is an American environmental technologies company headquartered in Northville, MI which develops and manufactures advanced control systems for energy storage and solar fields. It was founded in 2011 by Glynne Townsend (A123 Systems),[1] Dave Park (former Vice President of Production at Wave Crest Energy Systems), Dave Smith (former chairman of USABC), and Bill Beckman (former Vice President of Finance at Johnson Controls).[2]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Environmental Technology |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Glynne Townsend, CEO Dave Park, COO Bill Beckman CFO |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Advanced control systems for batteries and solar fields |
Number of employees | 10-50 |
| Website | www.spider9.com |
Spider9 acquired control system technology from the University of Michigan, Office of Technology Transfer and is developing the technology at their facilities at the Water Wheel Centre, in the historic Ford Valve Plant.[citation needed]
History
editSpider9 was founded on control system technology patents licensed from the University of Michigan Real-Time Computing Laboratory.[3][4] In the summer of 2011, the Spider9 leadership team brought the technology out of the Office of Technology Transfer, where it had been incubating. In July 2011, Spider9 pivoted the technology's business plan to target grid energy storage and solar field optimization rather than electric vehicles.[5] On November 3, 2011, Spider9 received a Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) grant to install a solar field on the roof of the Water Wheel Centre in Northville, MI.[citation needed]
Technology
editSpider9 systems are capable of reconfiguring the architecture of systems through in-house developed hardware and software algorithms. Using a Spider9 system, individual cells and panels are monitored and managed. The system architecture is dynamically reconfigured around the components to deliver a consistent voltage output, compensating for performance variances and failures.[6][7]
Facilities
editSpider9's facilities are equipped with a waterwheel designed by Albert Kahn (architect) which once provided constant, sustainable hydroelectric power to the facility.[8] The waterwheel no longer fulfills the electricity needs of the building. Spider9 is designing a control system for an 85 kW rooftop solar field with backup battery storage to supply the building with renewable power.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ "Townsend Company Team Profiles". July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2012. [dead link]
- ^ "Consolidating cultures and strategies: Turning five companies into one". 31 December 2010. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ Regents of the University of Michigan (January 2012). "License Agreement". Files 4302, 4442, 4625.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Cleantech start up spider9 launches from the University of Michigan". March 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ Ann Arbor SPARK (25 October 2011). "Michigan Energy Forum: Advanced Energy Storage, October 25th in Novi, Michigan". Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ Tom Henderson (4 March 2012). "Spider9's technology helps customers keep the power flowing". Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ "U. Mich spinout Spider9 offering dynamic control systems for grid-scale batteries and solar arrays". 20 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ "Ford Valve Plant (Northville)". December 2006. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.