Polar Power, Inc. (NASDAQ: POLA), a global provider of prime,
backup and solar hybrid DC power solutions announced it has
received certification from the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) for Toyota 1KS natural gas and LPG engines used in Polar’s DC
power systems.
As part of Polar Power’s ongoing diversification
strategy, the company has been working to introduce lower emission,
fuel efficient prime power and solar hybrid power systems targeting
telecom, residential and commercial markets in sub 40 kw microgrid
applications. Polar’s engineering team has worked for over twelve
months to integrate proprietary control technology with a long-life
Toyota engine and Bosch engine controls designed to address the
growing market for prime power, CHP and backup power needs
worldwide. Polar is currently the only US company to achieve EPA
certification for this Toyota 1KS engine that operates on natural
gas and LPG (liquid petroleum gas refers to propane or combinations
of propane and butane gases).
In the 1980’s this .952-liter Toyota engine was
first developed by Daihatsu to run 24/7 for natural gas fueled heat
pumps (GHP) used for air-conditioning and heating (HVAC). The GHP
products were created in response to a Japanese government mandate
that HVAC installations operated off the natural gas grid as
opposed to the electric grid. This application in Japan has been
very successful due to the high fuel efficiency, low maintenance
and very long engine life. Polar, from 1998 to 2006, had purchased
this Daihatsu engine through US distribution and incorporated it
into its solar hybrid and prime power systems for residential and
telecom markets. Toyota purchased Daihatsu in 1999 and eventually
stopped its exports of these engines to the US. Polar dropped its
sales efforts to residential markets but continued offering prime
and backup generators using a Kubota engine for its telecom
customers. Since acquiring Daihatsu in 1999 Toyota has made a
significant improvement to the engine platform, including an
electric carburetor and a further reduction in oil maintenance.
“We are excited to reach this key step in our
growth strategy and diversification plan,” said Arthur Sams, Polar
Power’s CEO. “We believe the growing demand for electric vehicle
charging and HVAC will lead to more homes and businesses needing
upgrades in electric power service, which is likely to exacerbate
the problem of energy shortages and blackouts. Our CHP, natural gas
vehicle chargers, and solar hybrid systems can solve the needs of
many residences and small businesses without the potential high
costs of utility service upgrades. Microgrids and distributed
energy generation (DEG) is gaining mindshare and market share
around the world driven by improving economics relative to utility
power and better reliability. We believe our immediate
opportunities are in applications demanding compelling economics,
reliability and performance and based on these attributes Polar’s
entrance into the sub 40 kW prime power market product should have
little competition. There are very few manufactures providing a
solution that has smaller footprint, lower noise levels, reduced
maintenance, less fuel consumption and lower emissions. With
tightening pollution requirements, we expect clean LPG and natural
gas will over time replace diesel products in most stationary prime
power generation applications. Having under 40 kW prime power
generators that operate on natural gas and LPG gives us a
competitive advantage over the many generators manufactures that do
not offer LPG or natural gas generators in the smaller size
ranges.”
“We see our Toyota based generator products
offering significantly lower CAPEX and OPEX costs over a variety of
other power systems including fuel cells. For example, Toyota
recommends the maintenance interval at 8,600 hours (requiring a
change of oil, spark plug and filters at a cost of $150). Our
interviews with PEM fuel cell manufacturers that are competing to
provide systems in the telecom markets, stated a need to replace
the PEM membrane stack at between 4,500 to 6,000 hours at a cost of
60% of the system or around $9,000 for 15 kW configurations.
Furthermore, comparing our product against the
most popular generator brands based on maintenance will help
illustrate our advantages:
- Oil and filter maintenance: Polar - 8,600 hours, Major Brand -
200 hours
- Spark plugs: Polar - 8,600 hours, Major Brand – 400 hours
- Engine service life: Polar - 40,000 to 90,000 hours, Major
Brand – 2,000 to 3,000 hours
- Generator service life: Polar - 100,000 + hours, Major Brand –
3,000 hours
- Starting battery replacement: Polar - 15 years (we use a
capacitor), Major Brand, every 2 to 4 years
“Incumbent generator technology has numerous
shortfalls when it comes to backing up the grid for days or weeks
at a time. For example, using traditional backup generators on a
continuous operating basis, the user will have to change the oil
every 9 days compared to Polar’s solution at once a year. At 3,000
hour engineered design life, home backup generators will last only
125 days verses 10 years for a Polar solution. Our backup solutions
will be marketed to high-end applications where owners are looking
for almost no maintenance, a long life and higher reliability.
“We will first target off-grid residential
applications where we can provide a cost competitive Solar Hybrid,
CHP and micro-cogeneration solution. For grid connected residences
and business we will target geographies with unreliable grids that
suffer from extended blackouts or markets with greater levels of
electrical vehicle penetration and high utility rates during peak
hours.”
Mr. Sams continued, “Although our focus is on
the higher end of the market, the opportunity is significant. As an
example, in California there are 4.88 million solar powered homes,
570,000 electric vehicles and 1.18 million residential homes with
pools that can benefit from lower cost power generation via CHP
during peak hours. In addition, there are significant off-grid
power needs in agricultural and residential applications across the
nation. We are currently developing our distribution and sales
strategy and expect to begin pilot deployments throughout 2020.
Initially we plan to work with LPG and natural gas fuel suppliers
and distributors globally to leverage existing distribution
networks for sales and service.”
Mr. Sams concluded, “We believe our DC power
solutions are well suited and economically competitive for numerous
markets outside of backup power for telecom and that our technology
provides a superior solution over incumbent systems. Upon review of
various new market opportunities for our products, we believe we
have an economically competitive solution for applications in the
low emission, high reliability residential and commercial microgrid
markets. This should provide us with a compelling additional
near-term growth opportunity beyond our established presence in the
global telecommunication markets.”
About Polar Power, Inc.Gardena,
California-based Polar Power, Inc. (NASDAQ: POLA), designs,
manufactures and sells direct current, or DC, power systems,
lithium battery powered hybrid solar systems for applications in
the telecommunications market and, in other markets, including
military, electric vehicle charging, cogeneration, distributed
power and uninterruptable power supply. Within the
telecommunications market, Polar’s systems provide reliable and
low-cost energy for applications for off-grid and bad-grid
applications with critical power needs that cannot be without power
in the event of utility grid failure. For more information, please
visit www.polarpower.com. or follow us on
www.linkedin.com/company/polar-power-inc/
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995This news release
contains certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to
future events or future business performance. Forward-looking
statements can be identified by the words “expects,” “anticipates,”
“believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” “will,” “outlook” and
similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on
management’s current plans, estimates, assumptions and projections,
and speak only as of the date they are made. With the exception of
historical information, the matters discussed in this press release
including, without limitation, Polar Power’s belief that growing
use of electric vehicles will lead to energy shortages nationwide;
Polar Power’s belief that its LPG and natural gas generator
generates electricity at lower cost than grid; Polar Power’s belief
that its LPG and natural gas generator is more reliable than
conventional generators in use today; Polar Power’s ability to
design and deliver LPG and natural gas generator to market for
testing and commercial installation during year 2020; Polar Power’s
ability to establish third party distribution network in a timely
manner to capture sales in residential, agricultural and commercial
markets; Polar Power’s ability to continue to meet EPA compliance
requirements in the future; Polar Power’s ability to secure
adequate inventory of Toyota engines or other related components to
adequately meet market demands. Polar Power’s belief that its
competitors will be unable to provide solutions that are cost
competitive, reliable and efficient to meet needs of off-grid under
40kW market. and Polar Power’s belief that it is at the beginning
of becoming a diversified global company are forward-looking
statements and considerations that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. The actual future results of Polar Power could
differ from those statements. Factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to,
adverse domestic and foreign economic and market conditions,
including demand for DC power systems; trade tariffs on raw
materials; changes in domestic and foreign governmental regulations
and policies; and other events, factors and risks. We undertake no
obligation to update any forward-looking statement in light of new
information or future events, except as otherwise required by law.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and are
generally beyond our control. Actual results or outcomes may differ
materially from those implied by the forward-looking statements as
a result of the impact of a number of factors, many of which are
discussed in more detail in our reports filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
Media and Investor
Relations:Integra Investor RelationsShawn M. Severson+1
415-233-7094info@integra-ir.com@Integra IRwww.integra-ir.com
Company Contact:Polar Power,
Inc.249 E. Gardena Blvd.Gardena, CA 90248Tel:
310-830-9153ir@polarpowerinc.comwww.polarpower.com
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