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Q&A: Jim Pape, CEO of energy storage startup EnerVault [San Jose Mercury News](San Jose Mercury News (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 26--Battery-based energy storage -- for homes, businesses and the electric grid -- is a hot new industry in Silicon Valley, driven by advances in battery chemistry and state policies designed to spur technological innovation. California sees energy storage as one tool to better manage the electric grid, integrate a growing amount of solar and wind and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And a host of startups are all competing for corporate and venture capital funding, customers and commercial and technological success. EnerVault, founded in 2008, is one that is drawing attention. The Sunnyvale company recently dedicated its 1-megawatt-hour flow battery system at an almond orchard in Turlock; investors include Mitsui Global Investment, Total Energy Ventures and 3M. Unlike conventional batteries, the redox flow batteries that EnerVault uses store energy in liquid solutions. This newspaper recently sat down with CEO Jim Pape, who also has experience in the solar industry. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: You joined SunPower in 2010, right when the solar industry was going through a really rough time due to competition from Chinese manufacturers. Solyndra filed for bankruptcy in 2011. What was it like to be in solar then? A: Tom Werner, the CEO of SunPower, was keenly aware of the changes the solar industry was going through in terms of overcapacity in China and how that would affect prices. He was also aware that the German and Italian feed-in-tariffs were not sustainable. He knew that we had to have a diversified portfolio around the world and get ready for margin compression. My job was to get the pipeline of projects going with the Macy's and the Walmarts and the Targets and school districts, so that we could weather the downturn. Q: How did you come to SunPower? A: Tom Werner was looking for a divisional president of the residential and commercial side of SunPower's business so Howard Wenger could focus on the utility side. He told a recruiter that he was looking for someone like a "Trane" guy: someone with experience with its own salesforce and dealer network and product. So the recruiter called me; I was the head of Trane in North America, based in Long Beach, and he told me I needed to come meet SunPower. After I accepted the offer, my wife and I went to the SunPower Christmas Party in 2010. It was at a downtown brewery, and there were all of these young people, and there was so much energy. That was my introduction to Silicon Valley. Q: Everyone in the solar industry is expanding into storage, including SunPower. So how did you come to be CEO of EnerVault? A: Storage is what enables the continued growth and penetration of renewables. The mix of energy generation is changing around the world. Today's most popular flexible resource is a gas turbine. It's a wonderful machine but it is subject to gas price and the availability of gas. There will be a large, multibillion-dollar market for a generation asset class called storage. Unlike a gas turbine, storage can work in two directions, and it has the ability to dispatch peak power and absorb over-generation for the benefit of the grid operator. After SunPower was acquired by Total, most of the officers left. I left, and I had an interest in storage. I did some consulting, I spent some quality time with my kids, and then I met Craig Horne, the founder of EnerVault. I saw what was going on, and I got hooked. Q: Unlike conventional batteries, redox flow batteries are rechargeable batteries that store energy in liquid solutions. Without getting too much into the weeds, what would you say sets EnerVault apart from the competition, in terms of battery chemistry? EnerVault uses iron chromium as its battery chemistry; what's so great about iron chromium vs. vanadium? A: The original redox flow battery work was done by NASA with iron and chromium, which are low-cost and safe to work with. But NASA had a problem: They couldn't solve the problem of maintaining electrolyte balance, and the battery capacity would fade. Since then, a lot of people have picked up the technology and say that it's easier to work with vanadium, that it's an easier way to build a redox flow battery. But vanadium is expensive, and not plentiful, and two-thirds of the world supply is in Russia and China. It's problematic. Craig Horne's idea was that NASA's problems with iron chromium were solvable. The guy that solves this should win. Q: So EnerVault's technology was recently dedicated at an almond orchard in Turlock, where it is co-located with a solar system and electrical irrigation pump. What kind of data are you getting from the field? A: It's performing to the predicted model, which is very exciting. It's a four-hour system: 250 kw and four hours of duration, so 1 megawatt hour. Q: Energy storage is an emerging technology that is new to most people. How would you explain to a child what EnerVault does? A: In these tanks we can store the energy of the sun, in saltwater, for use when society needs it. Contact Dana Hull at 408-920-2706. Follow her at Twitter.com/danahull. Jim Pape Age: 54 Birthplace: Dallas Position: CEO of EnerVault, a Sunnyvale startup that makes grid-scale energy storage systems Previous jobs: Chief commercial officer, View Glass; president at SunPower; vice president and general manger, North America, at Trane Commercial Systems Education: Bachelor's degree, University of Texas Residence: Danville Family: Married; two daughters, ages 11 and 8 Five things about Jim Pape 1. Pape jokes that he is a Silicon Valley CEO despite having three strikes against him: He has no semiconductor or software background, and he did not go to Stanford. He comes from the world of industrial products, including gas turbines and the HVAC industry. 2. He first came to the valley in early 2010, when a headhunter recruited him to join San Jose-based SunPower as a division president overseeing residential and commercial sales, from air conditioning company Trane. 3. The California Independent System Operator's famous "duck curve"-- which shows the difference between forecast load and expected electricity production from renewable sources -- hangs on the wall of his office. 4. He drives a black Tesla Model S. 5. Loves to sail and golf. ___ (c)2014 the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) Visit the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) at www.mercurynews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |