Advanced Power Control Solutions (APCS) is only six months old, but precocious for its age. The company, which has developed an innovative coal/natural gas hybrid burner technology that allows coal-fired power plants to run cleaner and cheaper, is the winner of the BIG IDEA Business Plan Contest, sponsored by Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA.
APCS' technology, invented by Chris Abeyta, allows coal-fired plants to displace 30-40% of the coal they burn with cleaner natural gas or natural gas liquids by modifying the plant's existing coal burners through a cost-effective retrofit.
The company is officially based in Arizona, but with Pennsylvania's heavy reliance on coal, “Pennsylvania is where the growth is going to be,” says Tom Woodward, APCS president. (And there is a large potential market nationally; Woodward notes that 40% of the nation's power still comes from 625 coal-powered plants.)
Not only has APCS a fully commercialized technology, ready for turnkey installation, but Woodward notes that the business plan includes partnering with suppliers to bring gas to the plants, capturing that contract as well.
One immediate prospect of interest to Woodward is FirstEnergy, which announced last month that it would close two coal-fired plants in Western Pennsylvania, citing the cost of complying with environmental regulations and “the continued low market price for electricity.” “The reasons they cited are exactly what our technology addresses,” says Woodward.
As BIG IDEA prize winner, APCS gets $35,000, six months of residency at the Erie Technology Incubator at Gannon University, one-year free tuition at the eMarketing Learning Center and a free, five-hour consult on intellectual property from attorney Jonathan D'Silva of Erie's MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton.
Two other finalists Adaptmicrosys and reCAP Mason Jars received $10,000 in seed money from Ben Franklin.
Source: Tom Woodward, APCS; BFTP-CNP
Writer: Elise Vider