![Dan Casey and Quang Bui with their PowerPole](/sites/default/files/images/blog/2024-07/Our-Town-A-30_26_WEB-624x832.jpg)
At UCSB, the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) is a Technology Incubator Lab in Elings Hall. The Incubator has 1,500 square feet with wet bench lab space and office space available for lease by local tech start-ups. Its location near the CNSI Shared Experimental Facilities, the Materials Characterization Facilities, as well as conference rooms and meeting spaces, encourages successful engagement and innovation. Incubator companies benefit from UCSB’s entrepreneurial mentorship and training ecosystem, and the vibrant research community of CNSI. Heading the Incubator is Tal Margalith, Executive Director of Scientific Initiatives and Innovation.
One of the start-ups, Dragon Q Energy (DQE), leased space there to develop a new way to build safe and scalable grid-sized battery energy storage systems (BESS). Their team includes founder Dan Casey, mechanical engineer Quang Bui, electrical engineer Eliana Petreikis, and marketing director Liam Casey. Their product is an off-grid, solar integrated power system called the PowerPole, which places the battery portion underground and yields 15kWh of energy per unit. They are designating it for communities in need of electrical power.
Read the full article and interview by clicking the link below