Zenergy Power wins NYC smart grid deal

London-based superconductor developer Zenergy Power (AIM:ZEN) said today it signed a deal with Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) to build a device to improve the stability of New York City's electric grid.

Zenergy says its Fault Current Limiter technology detects and absorbs spikes in power that could damage electrical equipment or cause power outages. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates faults and other issues cause power disruptions costing $100 billion per year.

A Zenergy subsidiary is now planning to design, build and test a single-phase FCL to work in a number of substations by the end of August.

Zenergy received an $11 million grant from the DOE for its current limiters (see DOE invests $52M in U.S. grid modernization). Zenergy has also been awarded funding from the Californian Energy Commission (see Superconducting fault limiter to be tested in California grid) and the Department of Homeland Security, which awarded the company a contract last year to test its high-temperature superconductive fault current limiters on New York City's power grid (see Zenergy gets contract for project Hydra power grid study).

That intersete prompted Zenergy to ramp manufacturing in October with a five-year joint development agreement with Morris Township, N.J.-based Honeywell International (NYSE:HON). A Zenergy subsidiary is working with Honeywell to develop chemical manufacturing processes to allow production of Zenergy's 2G high temperature superconductive (HTS) wire to ramp up (see Zenergy signs development deal with Honeywell).