Ohio Startup: Former Navy Seal Starts Earl Energy, CleanTech Generator Company

Doug Moorehead is a retired Navy Seal from Cambridge Ohio. He also happens to hold a materials science degree from MIT and an MBA from Harvard. Wired reports that his military service spanned South America, the Persian Gulf and the South China Sea.

As the President of CleanTech startup Earl Energy he is drawing from his experiences in desolate areas, military training, and education to create solar diesel generators. During his military duty he would see enormous generators powering very little. Also as part of his military duty he would guard “countless” fuel convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those convoys would be transporting fuel at $35 a barrel or more. They also had a casualty rate of one soldier for every 24 convoys.

Keep in mind in the desert the fuel isn’t just powering vehicles, it’s powering everything.

The biggest load on the traditional fuel based generators employed by the armed forces is the constant running of the engines. Moorehead has created generators with solar panels on top. In addition to the solar panels the battery mechanism he has created only require the engine to run in short bursts. While traditional generators run for 24 hours at a time, Moorehead’s generator engines run for 4 to 5 hours a day, drastically reducing the amount of fuel needed to power them.

More after the break



Wired reports that when the US Marine Corps tested one of Moorehead’s generators the reduced the fuel cost by 93%.   The Marine Corps ordered two more generators which are now being used to power two frontline command centers in Afghanistan. Moorehead’s own branch, the Navy Seals have also ordered some of his generators and if the tests continue to go well the armed forces could be in line for thousands more.

This doesn’t take into account the value of road testing the Earl Energy generators in remote military installations. The generators already deployed are getting harder use cases than they would if they were tested locally.

This isn’t Moorehead’s first experience with power. While a student at MIT he participated in research that helped create the lithium ion phosphate battery. It was while Moorehead was on active duty in the late 90’s which sparked his interest in power even further, especially in military applications. In 2007 the Daily Jeffersonian reported that while on active duty Moorehead was assigned to a combat submersible vehicle. He realized that the batteries in the vehicle were poor performers and set out to do something about that.

The same is true of his generators and the need arising while serving his country.

Linkage:

Find out more about Moorehead’s company Earl Energy, Here

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source: Wired, Daily Jeffersonian