ARDA Power INC

Vision and Validation

ARDA Power uses patented technology to provide the core functionality for a range of power electronics solutions targeted at the emerging and now rapidly growing market for distributed power generation.

ARDA foresees a continued and rapid shift to more distributed generation, with more energy produced closer to where it is consumed, and greater reliance on renewable energy sources. Many of these sources including solar energy and fuel cells, as well as storage, generate DC power and require dedicated DC power grids to operate efficiently. At the same time, there is a growing trend towards incorporating DC powered loads like LED lighting and EV chargers. ARDA’s solutions make the design and installation of these DC power grids safer, more efficient, less complex, and less expensive, providing ARDA with a tremendous opportunity to participate in and lead the ongoing revolution in distributed power generation.

ARDA’s first target market is “next generation” solar energy. Solar energy is experiencing double digit growth with expectations for 40-49GW of new installations globally in 2014, up from 36GW in 2013. While solar technology is relatively mature, it is undergoing a transition to a new generation of designs that increasingly integrate energy storage to smooth generation and to better respond to demand. Recent legislation in California and Puerto Rico, high retail rates in Germany, an increasing focus on storage in China and Japan, and the decreasing cost of batteries, make storage more and more cost effective, and therefore more attractive as an integral part of solar installations. In fact according to IHS annual PV installations including storage are forecast to increase from under 200MW in 2013 to 6GW in 2017, with commercial solar installations representing the largest source of growth.

ARDA’s solution for “next generation” solar energy is being validated in a 2MW solar system installed in Ontario by a globally recognized engineering firm. The deployment includes critical components also used in the company’s fuel cell and micro-grid solutions. In parallel ARDA is designing and deploying an embedded fuel cell solution for a major North American fuel cell company. Because ARDA’s technology and solutions are modular and built around common components each solution leverages prior successes and technology validation.

History and Team

ARDA is an acronym standing for Advanced Resonant DC Amplifier, a key component to our patented Isolated High-Boost DC Converter.

ARDA Power was founded in 2009 to commercialize core technology originally developed at the University of Toronto. At the end of 2011 the company received the first round of financing and began developing and testing a solution targeted at the future solar plus storage market.

Since then ARDA has assembled a core team including expertise in power electronics, manufacturing, solar systems design and development, and technology commercialization. Leaders of the team include:

Peter Lehn

PhD. Peter is a co-founder of the company. Peter is currently a Professor and Chair of the Energy Systems Group at the University of Toronto. He has authored over 60 publications, chairs the IEEE Working Group on Modeling of Distributed Generation, and has provided R&D support in power conversion electronics for Siemens, ABB, Honeywell and others.

Peter Lewis

Peter has provided business development and advisory services to ARDA since 2011. Peter is currently Partner and owner at Swan Creek Energy, a clean technology project development and consulting firm based in New Jersey. Peter, who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, brings substantial experience developing and financing large scale renewable energy projects and has consulted for numerous early stage clean technology companies.

Kostya Strilets

Kostya has been a key member of the ARDA team since January of 2012. Prior to joining ARDA Kostya was a senior power electronics engineer for Siemens and SatCon Power Systems. Kostya brings to ARDA Power a depth of experience in designing and manufacturing power conditioning systems for the alternative energy sector.

Aleksey Toporkov

Aleksey was ARDA’s first investor and has been actively involved in the company since 2013. Prior to joining ARDA Aleksey was co-owner and CEO of a Schindler Elevators/Escalators’ JV in Russia. Upon completion of an exit for the founders Aleksey joined Schindler USA where he managed their Cost Leadership and Industrialization Programs.

Luis Zubieta

PhD. Luis is a co-founder of the company. Prior to joining ARDA Power, Luis held senior R&D roles at SatCon Power Systems and FuelCell Energy, and was a contract developer and consultant for numerous companies. Luis has extensive experience developing large scale power inverters for applications in renewable energy.

Solutions Overview

ARDA utilizes a common systems architecture and patented core components to construct solutions targeted at key markets in the rapidly emerging area of distributed generation. The basic architecture provides for a constant high voltage DC backbone to which various energy sources and loads connect using two proprietary components: the ARDA Isolated High-Boost DC Converter and the ARDA Bi-Directional DC Converter. These ARDA-Grid based solutions provide a range of benefits including increased efficiency, improved safety, extended life, and lower design complexity.

Current ARDA Power solutions include:

Solar Plus Storage

Fuel Cells for Stationary Power

DC Microgrid

Core Technology

All of ARDA’s solutions are based on a common architecture, and two key components, the ARDA Isolated High-Boost DC Converter and the ARDA Bi-Directional Converter. Together, ARDA-Grid technology enables:

• Constant high voltage DC grids that maximize inverter efficiency and make it easier to interconnect a range of power sources and loads

• Electrical isolation across the DC grid to prevent damage from ground faults

• Inherently safer, low voltage operation of sources and loads attached to the high voltage DC grid, including solar modules and fuel cells

• Bi-polar or Uni-polar system design as dictated by the specific application

ARDA’s technology and components are modular, providing an opportunity for high volume, low cost production and easy deployment even on distributed energy systems with widely varying custom configurations.

All of ARDA’s solutions are based on minor or no modifications to two core components, sometimes coupled with other currently available third party converter products. 

Core Technology

All of ARDA’s solutions are based on a common architecture, and two key components, the ARDA Isolated High-Boost DC Converter and the ARDA Bi-Directional Converter. Together, ARDA-Grid technology enables:

• Constant high voltage DC grids that maximize inverter efficiency and make it easier to interconnect a range of power sources and loads

• Electrical isolation across the DC grid to prevent damage from ground faults

• Inherently safer, low voltage operation of sources and loads attached to the high voltage DC grid, including solar modules and fuel cells

• Bi-polar or Uni-polar system design as dictated by the specific application

ARDA’s technology and components are modular, providing an opportunity for high volume, low cost production and easy deployment even on distributed energy systems with widely varying custom configurations.

All of ARDA’s solutions are based on minor or no modifications to two core components, sometimes coupled with other currently available third party converter products. 

Bi-Directional DC Converter

ARDA’s non-isolated Bi-Directional DC Converter was originally designed for ARDA’s Solar plus Storage Solution so that batteries could be connected directly to the DC link of the solar system and share a common inverter. But the characteristics of the converter make it appealing for a broad range of distributed energy applications that integrate storage, or for stand alone energy storage applications.

Key characteristics of ARDA’s patented non-isolated Bi-Directional DC Converter include:

• Based on bi-polar grounded battery banks

• Modular and scalable from low power to high power

• Enables independent management of battery banks

• Limits short circuit energy of ground faults without relying on fuses/breakers

• Reduces cost and simplifies control

Key benefits of ARDA’s non-isolated Bi-Directional DC Converter for distributed energy applications integrating storage include:

• Lower and safer voltages with respect to ground simplifying monitoring and reducing cost

• Reduced short circuit energy in faults to ground

• Easy integration with renewable sources

• Easily adaptable to different battery technologies

• Improved battery lifetime by enabling independent management of smaller battery banks

• Increased system availability

Key benefits of ARDA’s non-isolated Bi-Directional DC Converter for stand-alone energy storage applications include:

• Simple and low cost topology that allows the use of bipolar batteries reducing potentials to ground for safer operation and simpler battery management instrumentation

• Increased safety by limiting battery current contribution into DC link short circuits to low currents of very short duration without the activation of fuses or breakers

• Easy detection of battery internal faults to ground without the need for complex fusing schemes or instrumentation