New tech demo center pushes San Jose’s Green Vision onto streets & buildings
By ANNE GELHAUS | agelhaus@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
September 24, 2014 at 12:06 pm
If the 18 companies housed in San Jose’s new ProspectSV Technology Demonstration Center have their way, buildings will have more energy-efficient and natural interior lighting, and they’ll be powered by self-sustaining “micro-grids.”
On the road, hybrid vehicles will run on more efficient, possibly solar- or wind-powered batteries. Electric vehicle chargers will be more reliable and possibly mobile. And to cut down on accidents involving vehicles of all types, traffic signs will be digital, connected and smart.
These and other innovations in clean technology will be demonstrated at ProspectSV’s grand opening celebration on Oct. 2, along with the center’s state-of-the-art labs, vehicle lift and shop equipment and open-platform vehicle simulator facility.
Entrepreneurs will be using this equipment to develop and test products, many of which are in the transportation and building sectors. Managing director Heidi Lubin says the center’s mission “has really evolved to focus on smart, clean, connected cities. Clean, connected, renewable transportation and buildings are at the heart of that.”
Besides Energy Arts and Science Corporation, which is developing the energy-efficient lighting, and Modula S, which is developing the micro-grids, other companies at ProspectSV working on clean tech for buildings are AutoGrid, Carnot Compression, Juice Box Energy, Rey Labs and Zere Systems.
Companies working on more efficient electric and hybrid vehicle batteries and chargers include FreeWire Technologies, Green Dot, Gridtential and Thomson Power. Working to ease traffic gridlock are Quanergy Systems, RSM Ltd., Savari Networks and Signal Labs LLC.
The Tech Shop is also setting up shop in the ProspectSV Center, providing a place for community members to learn everything from welding to woodworking and Shopbot to soldering.
Located within San Jose’s Environmental Innovation Center, the 22,500-square-foot ProspectSV center was born out of San Jose’s Green Vision plan, adopted in October 2007 with the goal of transforming San Jose into “the world center of clean technology innovation.” The nonprofit demonstration center supports another Green Vision goal of creating 25,000 clean tech jobs in San Jose by 2022.
The center’s advisory board helps staff vet companies interested in using the facilities. These companies can work on a drop-in basis to develop their products or as demonstration clients who are looking to San Jose and other cities to help test their designs.
Corporations that want to connect with entrepreneurs can do so through the center.
Lubin hopes the public will connect with ProspectSV at the grand opening celebration.
“We’ll have food trucks, drinks and really cool technology to interact with,” she says.
The ProspectSV Technology Demonstration Center is located at 1608 Las Plumas Ave. The grand opening celebration is Oct. 2, 6-9:30 p.m. Admission is $10. Register by Sept. 30 at prospectsv.org.