Cumulus Energy Storage – which has pioneered a ground-breaking low-cost, renewable battery technology – has expanded into 800 sq ft office space at the AMP Technology Centre in Rotherham, in a deal facilitated by managing and commercial agents, Creative Space Management.
The company, founded by Nick Kitchin, Darron Brackenbury and Mike Hurwitz, has had a presence at the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) owned AMP Technology Centre since 2012. Having grown to a team of 6 in Rotherham and 10 in San Francisco, the business has expanded into larger premises as it prepares to disrupt the renewable energy market worldwide with its revolutionary battery technology.
The duo of forward-thinking entrepreneurs saw an opportunity in the rapidly expanding renewable energy market which is in urgent need of a grid-level, economically viable energy storage system. Solar PV and wind farms industries are set to grow rapidly worldwide over the next three years; Solar Power Europe predicts that the installation of solar PVs will more than double by the end 2019 and the Wind Energy Council forecasts the cumulative capacity of wind generation to increase by 80% in the same period. As wind farms generate most of their energy at night and solar power during the day, energy suppliers must find a way to ‘bottle’ this clean energy so that it can be accessed at any time, whatever the weather.
Cumulus has taken the visionary step of using 200-year-old technology – the copper and zinc battery – the same design used in the first modern day battery invented by Alessandro Volta in 1799 – with new technology from two other industrial-scale processes to make them rechargeable and able to be produced on an industrial scale. The team has created a disruptive opportunity – electricity super-storage – using patent granted technology in the form of a low-cost, grid-scale rechargeable battery.
With financial support from the UK Government and private investment, in 2014, Cumulus set up a research and development facility in San Francisco, California with laboratory facilities developing grid-connected full-scale prototypes. California is the first state to mandate energy storage, setting a target of 1.3GW of energy storage by 2020.
Having a dual base provides the company an overview of two key markets. The facility in California allows the team to keep up to date with regulatory developments in the epicentre of energy storage innovation, investment and deployment. The business’s manufacturing headquarters at the AMP Technology Centre means the company has first-hand knowledge of the renewables market and smart grid opportunities across Britain and Europe.
Comments Nick Kitchin, Founder and CEO of Cumulus: “Our location at the Technology Centre means we can work alongside some of the best minds working in the field and we’ve received a terrific amount of support from both the University of Sheffield and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. It’s fantastic to be located in a place which can facilitate and support our growth – both in terms of physical space and enabling us to develop our product using the newest engineering and manufacturing technologies available, many of which are being pioneered right here at the AMP.
The company has further expansion plans by spring 2017 ahead of mass market production of the technology within the next two years.
Adds Paul Taylor from Creative Space Management: “This new letting is another example of a fantastic Yorkshire-grown technology company whose expansion can be nurtured and facilitated by the unique product we have here at the AMP Technology Centre.
The AMP Technology Centre is currently more than 85% let with a limited number of spaces available ranging from 150 sq ft to 3200 sq ft.
There are also a number of spaces available at the HCA-owned Building 3, adjacent to the AMP Technology Centre, which opened in May this year. The facility, which is already more than 80% let, also offers a communal kitchen, shower facilities and access to state-of-the-art meeting rooms and conference facilities. Contact John Palframan at Creative Space Management for more information on John@amptechnologycentre.co.uk
Creative Space Management
Founded in 2005, Creative Space Management has been awarded industry accolades every year since it began for its specialist service that combines facilities management, consultancy and commercial lettings. The company, which has grown from a staff team of 8 to 30 in the last 3 years, operates workspaces and urban realm for clusters of knowledge based businesses including digital, creative industries, advanced manufacturing and sustainable energy sectors. Specifically targeted at innovation and high growth enterprise sectors, Creative Space provides managed workspace solutions as well as ‘meanwhile use’ strategies to reduce liabilities for property owners and to stimulate business growth and enterprise.
Creative Space is also the managing and lettings agent for the Round Foundry and Marshall’s Mill developments in Leeds on behalf of the Aviva Igloo Regeneration Fund, and its property management portfolio in the North includes Electric Works in Sheffield and Toffee Factory in Newcastle.
The Homes and Communities Agency is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England, and the Regulator of Social Housing Providers. Its vision is to:
· Create opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live, by enabling local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas; and
· Focus on governance, financial viability and value for money as the basis for robust economic regulation that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer.
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