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MTPV Power Corporation

MTPV Power Corporation is a clean energy semiconductor chip company. Their products convert heat directly into electricity. The primary energy source for this technology is high temperature waste heat from industrial processes and methane flaring. The company is headquartered in Austin, TX with key R&D operations in Medford, MA.

Technology

Using nano-scale gaps, MTPV's technology allows high energy transfer while maintaining a high temperature differential between two surfaces that are very close together. The maintenance of the nano-scale gap amplifies the intensity of infrared light that crosses from the emitter to the photovoltaic cell, increasing the density of electricity produced. This approach creates and maintains the gap at extreme temperature differentials of 1000°C or more between an emitter and the photovoltaic cells. MTPV Power Corporation refers to their implementation of this technology as micron-gap thermophotovoltaics, or MTPV.

History

MTPV LLC was founded by Bob DiMatteo while he was conducting research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on energy transfer in the near-field. The first fundamental patent was filed in 1997 and issued in 2000. In 2004 MTPV began the work towards commercializing its photovoltaic innovations in the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. In 2007 the company joined Boston University’s business incubation program and moved to the Photonics Center at Boston University. Since 2012 the company’s R&D center has been located in Medford, MA. The company has received a series of grants from organizations including the National Science Foundation, MassVentures, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to advance research and commercialization. MTPV currently has 44 issued patents and 45 pending patents worldwide.

Products

MTPV’s initial offering, the EBLADE™ Power Platform, is comprised of an array of EBLADE™ Power Core devices, systems management and balance of systems. Within each EBLADE™ Power Core device is an array of solid state MPTV engines that convert the radiant energy of high temperature environments directly into electricity.

Awards

The company has received a number of awards including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Best Venture award at the 2010 Clean Energy Forum, the WBT Innovation Marketplace Best Venture award in 2011 , and the TechConnect National Innovation Award in 2013. MTPV was named among the Global Cleantech 100 in 2014 by the Cleantech Group.

Locations:

Austin, TX

Medford, MA