A panel of expert judges has selected nine teams as finalists in the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO) Wood Heater Design Challenge (WHDC). The finalists will now advance to this year’s Technology Slam...
September 22, 2022
minute read time
A panel of expert judges has selected nine teams as finalists in the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office’s (BETO) Wood Heater Design Challenge (WHDC). The finalists will now advance to this year’s Technology Slam—a “Shark Tank™”-style competition where teams pitch their innovative residential wood heater designs to retailers, the public, and a panel of judges who will narrow down the finalists to three teams. Those selected at the Technology Slam on September 29, 2022, will share $120,000 in prize money and move forward to the testing phase of the competition at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York.
The goal of the WHDC is to rapidly develop cleaner and more efficient wood heaters to help meet the challenge of decarbonizing residential heating. “Wood stove technology is not developing fast enough to meet the needs of a renewable energy future,” said Dr. Valerie Sarisky-Reed, Director, U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office. “But we believe the technology has great potential and this competition is a way to share innovative ideas for the marketplace.”
Wood and pellet stoves are a popular renewable heating technology in most of the United States. They have become even more in demand as electricity and fossil fuel heating prices rise, however wood stoves often emit too much smoke, especially in more densely inhabited towns and cities. DOE is now investing in wood heater technology to jumpstart research and development among U.S. innovators and manufactures and to advance American leadership in this field.
Register to watch the virtual Technology Slam on September 29, 2022, from 10 a.m.-noon ET. The nine teams will give short presentations of their wood heaters and answer questions from judges in what is sure to be a lively and informative virtual event that is free and open to the public. There will also be an Audience Award conducted during the Slam where all attendees can vote on the heater they think has the most potential.
The nine finalists selected are:
|
Team |
Location |
Innovative Technology |
|
Aprovecho Research Center |
Cottage Grove, OR |
Airflow optimization in pellet stove |
|
Chimney Cherry |
Los Angeles, CA |
Innovative electrostatic precipitator |
|
Davidon Industries |
Warwick, RI |
Automatic combustion control device |
|
Kleiss Engineering |
Cloverdale, IN |
Computer algorithm-controlled stove |
|
MF Fire |
Baltimore, MD |
Automatically engaging catalyst |
|
Stony Brook University |
Stonybrook, NY |
Scales & sensors modulate airflow |
|
Stanford University |
Stanford, CA |
Electronic afterburner |
|
Wittus |
Pound Ridge, NY |
Multi-fuel, catalytic stove with ESP |
|
Woodgas Pyrolytics |
Normal, IL |
Pyrolytic micro-gasification of fuel |
The Wood Heater Design Challenge is a collaboration between BETO, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Alliance for Green Heat. The Challenge was created to engage and expand the wood heater community; foster relationships between academia, industry, and other stakeholders to develop innovative wood heaters that are cleaner and more efficient; and to build strong teams to create and design new wood stove technologies.
Dr. Mark A. Shmorhun
Dr. Mark A. Shmorhun is a Technology Manager with the Bioenergy Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Mark collaborates with biotechnology companies and national laboratories to develop and mature mid-stage biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower research and development (R&D) with an emphasis on chemical process development and plant engineering and design. He has several lower technology readiness level projects and a variety of scale-up, pilot-scale, and demonstration-scale projects with a goal to produce sustainable aviation fuel.
Mark has more than 20 years’ experience in the specialty chemicals and biochemical industries in R&D, engineering, and business development roles. He started his career at Goodrich in the 1980s commercializing new polymers. He then worked for WR Grace, an internet start-up company, which was a chemical and construction materials enterprise where he led an R&D group in new materials and product development. In 2005, Dr. Shmorhun started work for Delta T, a company that was building first generation ethanol plants around the world and eventually became Vice President of Business Development.
Prior to joining DOE, Dr. Shmorhun was the Vice President of Engineering and General Manager for the Myriant Corporation where he oversaw the daily operation of a succinic acid biorefinery located in Lake Providence, Louisiana. “It was a disadvantaged community, and the facility was hugely impactful. The influx of construction jobs, about 70 full time employees at that facility, was important to that community. It was a real privilege to be there,” said Dr. Shmorhun.
Mark received his B.S. in chemical engineering and M.S. in materials engineering from Drexel University. Mark earned his Ph.D. in macromolecular science and engineering from Case Western Reserve University and an MBA from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary.