SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--II‐VI Incorporated (Nasdaq: IIVI), a Saxonburg based global leader in engineered materials and optoelectronic components, is lowering its carbon footprint, reducing water use and improving air quality with a new microgrid at its Warren, New Jersey manufacturing facility.
Microgrids are electrical power systems which can operate independently of the electrical grid. The II-VI (“two-six”) microgrid addresses growing power needs at the company’s Warren facility, which has ramped up production in the past year to meet demand for its 3D sensing technology. With the local electric utility unable to supply more power quickly enough to keep up with its growth, II-VI sought an on-site grid-independent power solution to keep growing and to grow ‘greener’.
II-VI selected California clean energy company Bloom Energy to build a 2.5 megawatt power system to support its growing operations. The Bloom Energy Server site was up-and-running within nine months of the two companies first starting to work together.
Bloom Energy Servers generate reliable, on-site electricity without combustion and have the highest delivered electrical efficiency of any commercially available electric power generation system in the world. Bloom Energy Servers are now deployed at 25 of the Fortune 100, and at approximately 600 locations worldwide.
By using Bloom Energy Servers as its primary source of power, II-VI is reducing CO2 emissions by 15 million lbs per year relative to the power the company would have bought from the New Jersey grid. About 50% of the power generated in New Jersey grid comes from combusting fossil fuels.
Bloom Energy Servers generate electricity from natural gas or biogas via an electrochemical reaction rather than combustion. As a result, they generate virtually no smog-forming emissions, an important factor since New Jersey ranks in the bottom 25 states for air quality.
Bloom Energy Servers also use virtually no water in normal operation. By comparison, to produce one megawatt per hour for a year, combustion-based grid power draws approximately 156 million more gallons of water.
In addition to delivering significant sustainability benefits, the new microgrid provides II-VI with increased energy security. Bloom Energy Servers utilize underground natural gas infrastructure, which is not susceptible to the impact of severe weather. The systems also provide very high quality power, which is important in high tech manufacturing.
“We faced two significant challenges bringing production levels up at our Warren facility. First, we needed a solution that would deliver power in months not years. Second, we wanted to decrease our overall carbon footprint,” said Dr. Giovanni Barbarossa, Chief Technology Officer and President Laser Solutions, II-VI Incorporated. “Bloom Energy delivered on both fronts. We’re excited to be working with them to fulfil our energy demands now and into the future.”
“Electricity is the lifeblood of high tech manufacturing, and a reliable, high quality power supply is vital to the world’s most advanced manufacturing companies,” said KR Sridhar, founder, chairman and CEO of Bloom Energy. “We’re proud to be an American manufacturer helping another American manufacturer achieve impressive growth, reliability and sustainability.”
About II-VI Incorporated
II-VI Incorporated, a global leader in engineered materials and optoelectronic components, is a vertically integrated manufacturing company that develops innovative products for diversified applications in the industrial, optical communications, military, life sciences, semiconductor equipment, and consumer markets. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, the Company has research and development, manufacturing, sales, service, and distribution facilities worldwide. The Company produces a wide variety of application-specific photonic and electronic materials and components, and deploys them in various forms, including integrated with advanced software to support our customers. For more information, please visit www.ii-vi.com.
About Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy’s mission is to make clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone in the world. The Company’s product, the Bloom Energy Server, delivers highly reliable and resilient, ‘Always-On’ electric power that is clean and sustainable. Bloom’s customers include twenty-five of the Fortune 100 companies and leaders in cloud services and data centers, healthcare, retail, financial services, utilities and many other industries. For more information, visit www.bloomenergy.com