Port Hueneme, Calif. (February 13, 2022) –
Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC) announces its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Indian Energy, LLC—a 100% Native American Indian owned limited liability company headquartered in Anaheim, California, specializing in microgrid development.
The purpose of the CRADA is to develop and demonstrate a combination of energy storage technologies that are reliable, affordable, and safe for a diverse set of energy storage technologies for the modern age. In the future, these efforts could become scalable microgrids that could collectively behave as a generator, or storage system capable of providing grid reliability services, in addition to their core function of generating and storing electricity.
Systems like these are currently being tested and adopted for operational use by U.S. Marines at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. There, Indian Energy’s systems will be integrated into Miramar’s multiple award winning microgrid for testing and evaluation by NAVFAC EXWC, the Navy, the Department of Energy, and more.
Large-scale energy storage is a critical player in widespread de-carbonization of the United States’ electric power generation and delivery capabilities. To date, single technology solutions do not offer the required capacity or longevity to support large-scale energy storage. Much of the current technology is also costly, and can be harmful to the environment once decommissioning occurs.
“This CRADA is a critical opportunity for NAVFAC EXWC to work with a local, leading energy security company to rapidly integrate and commercialize technologies that will become breakthrough advancements for innovative energy storage,” said Robert Nordahl, NAVFAC EXWC Microgrid Team Lead. “The capability to coordinate and optimize a diverse portfolio of energy storage solutions is essential to the dexterity of the Navy.”
“This effort is another recent example of a growing history of successful partnerships between the Navy and Native American-owned businesses. In addition, this brings together the long standing relationship between NAVFAC and the California Energy Commission and provides a clear path toward the success of all parties on their climate and resiliency goals. We could not be more honored to be able to support our state and federal partners in this way,” said Allen G. Cadreau, Indian Energy Chief Executive Officer.
For more information about NAVFAC EXWC’s microgrid technologies, contact Robert Nordahl, NAVFAC EXWC Microgrid Team Lead at robert.l.nordahl.civ@us.navy.mil.