Nearly a year ago, Emerson announced its participation with Greentown Labs, joining this Climate Technology (Climatetech) incubator at the highest level of engagement. This collaboration aims to help climatetech startups commercialize and scale innovations.
One example of this collaboration is helping Syzygy Plasmonics to automate the electrification of their innovative chemical production processes. The all-electric production method is designed to replace fossil fuel-based combustion, helping reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs while advancing global sustainability goals.
Greentown Labs has an impressive list of entrepreneurial member companies advancing more sustainable manufacturing methods. Some examples include:
- Solution for cooling tower systems that reduces chemical consumption
- Green hydrogen platform that allows hard-to-abate industrial hydrogen producers and users to achieve sustainability
- Motionless wind turbine for the building environment
- Geothermal exploration to deliver scaled renewable energy production at economic levels
- Carbo-Chloride Reduction (CCR) technology produces low-GHG primary aluminum metal at a fraction of the cost of the current process
- Accessing information on the quality of water in the world
- Atmospheric water generation systems that provide constant freshwater
- Vertical axis wind turbines
- …and many more.
Automation is key in enabling a startup’s journey to standardization and scalability. I caught up with Emerson’s Nousha Tayefeh about the progress made on these collaborative efforts. Nousha sits on Greentown Labs’ Industry Leadership Council.
As Partners of Greentown Labs, Emerson, and its Impact Partner, Puffer-Sweiven, have provided automation technology and expertise to Greentown Labs and its member companies. Now, Greentown Lab’s Prototyping Lab in Houston is home to Emerson’s DeltaV Automation Platform, thanks to the donation of a prototyping and demonstration skid.
With access to the two units, member companies can explore the capabilities of an easy-to-use, integrated-by-design DeltaV Distributed Control System. The skids feature a DeltaV PK Controller, CHARMS I/O, ProPlus License with Simulation capabilities, and DeltaV Live on an Operator Panel. The system scales from pilot-sized applications to full production, optimizes processes for high-quality manufacturing and production, and enables a smart foundation for access to contextualized data.
Puffer-Sweiven’s Sean Hosseini and his project services team will assist the climatetech companies in applying these automation technologies to their processes to kick-start the prototyping and scale-up processes for these businesses. This early engagement is critical for start-ups to prove their processes and begin their journeys to becoming growing, successful companies.
Greentown Labs highlighted an example of the intended use of these skids in a recent LinkedIn post.
Our member Global ROC, which is developing a solution for cooling tower systems that reduces chemical consumption, saves water, and reduces energy costs, plans to use the system in two ways, according to CEO Ely Trujillo. First, the startup will create a control method that can be applied to future projects by using and comparing Global ROC’s products with the Delta V’s proven, advanced function blocks. Second, Trujillo plans to train team members to set up and tune a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller, which involves building a lab test box connected to the DeltaV’s CHARM modules to control a process to a specified temperature by varying amperage through the DeltaV’s PID controller.
Emerson and Puffer-Sweiven are proud to collaborate with these innovative climatetech companies as they prove out their processes and advance the global cause for lower-carbon manufacturing and more sustainable operations.
