BLOOMFIELD—State Senators Beth Bye (D-West Hartford) and Doug McCrory (D-Hartford) joined executives of R&D Dynamics in Bloomfield today to celebrate the company securing Class 1 renewable energy source designation for their groundbreaking
“ThermoGen” system, which generates electricity from industrial low-grade waste heat.
The desirable Class 1 renewable energy designation for R&D’s product—the same designation given to solar, wind, fuel cells and geothermal products—was included in Senate Bill 9, “An Act Concerning Connecticut’s Energy Future,” which was signed into law on May 24.
Sens. Bye and McCrory help craft and pass the necessary legislation—which passed on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis in both the House and the Senate—after meeting with R&D officials in January.
“Your support and hard work was monumental,” R&D Dynamics President Dr. Giri Agrawal told Sens. Bye and McCrory. “Many things were started in Connecticut first, and we’re going to start the ThermoGen in Connecticut, and we are going to change the world starting in Connecticut.”
“You believe in Connecticut, and you believe Connecticut is a great place to do business. But you needed help, and you knew that we would help,” Sen. Bye said. “To have somebody who believes in Connecticut, to have a company that wants to grow, it is really our job as your state representatives to make that happen.”
“I felt your passion for wanting to do this. You stepped out on a limb. You explained to us why this is important, not only to Connecticut but to the entire world,” Sen. McCrory said. “Your business is going to grow, and when your business grows you hire more people, and more people stay in Connecticut.”
“This Class 1 designation will allow for significant job growth here at R&D Dynamics; we think customers are really going to be excited by this product,” said R&D Dynamics Vice-President Sunil Agrawal. “This legislation will allow sooner commercialization of ThermoGen, and customers will see a quicker payback on their investment.”
The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, Inc. (CCAT) provided strategic assistance to R&D Dynamics for the identification of market opportunities and technical viability. CCAT was also on hand to acknowledge the efforts provided by R&D Dynamics, Sens. Bye and McCrory, and the production staff at R&D Dynamics.
“We are pleased to help our hydrogen and fuel cell businesses in Connecticut increase opportunities for business, job, community, and economic development,” said CCAT’s Director of Energy Joel Rinebold. “This is what it takes to make Connecticut and the United States great, made possible by a team of strong individuals. Identifying the market need for clean energy technology, designing advanced technology solutions, supporting and manufacturing the product and technology to make tech for domestic and global markets.”
Founded in 1990 and now located on West Dudleytown Road in Bloomfield, R&D Dynamics has grown from just five employees to more than 65. It designs and manufactures oil-free, energy-efficient and high-speed turbomachinery for aerospace and commercial sectors like General Electric, BMW, Rolls Royce, FuelCell Energy and the U.S. military.
At 12 feet long, eight feet tall and five feet wide, the ThermoGen system can produce 180 kilowatts of electricity from waste heat—enough to power 180 homes. It is oil-free, has zero emissions, and has a 25-year lifespan.