The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

General Court
State House, Boston, MA 02133-1054

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: October 10, 2018
Contacts:
Don Siriani, Tarr Office 617-722-1600, Cell 978-761-0472 don.siriani@masenate.gov
Laura Sapienza-Grabski, Helix Power 781-248-4576

Groundbreaking Energy Storage Technology Moves MBTA

To Explore Options With Helix Power Corporation
New Data Sharing Agreement to Produce Demonstration of Energy Saving
System to Reduce Carbon Emissions and Save Operating Dollars

Boston- The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has turned toward an emerging clean energy
storage system developed by Helix Power Corporation of Somerville to capture energy used to slow
subway trains and make that energy immediately available for acceleration thus yielding electricity
savings and greenhouse gas reductions.

Under terms of a new agreement between the T and Helix Power, the developers of a high-tech high-
powered flywheel energy storage system, the company will receive data of train movements in order to
design a system to meet the transportation authority’s needs while reducing carbon emissions.

The Helix flywheel system temporarily stores energy used to slow subway trains and makes it
immediately transferable to accelerate them, a major high-power demand that rapid transit operators
must continuously contend with. Those familiar with the technology say that Helix could
simultaneously cut the MBTA’s greenhouse gas emissions, its overall energy consumption, and reduce
the T’s peak demand on the power grid.

“Helix Power is introducing an advanced energy storage technology using high power short duration
flywheels as an extreme energy management tool.” said Matthew Lazarewicz Founder and President
of Helix Power. “We are delighted to sign an agreement with the MBTA to demonstrate our technology
in their service environment for the largest single electric consumer in the Commonwealth.
Implementation on the MBTA has the potential to manage high energy fluctuations, save energy being
wasted and reduce greenhouse gases at an accelerated rate.”

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R- Gloucester) and Representative Keiko Orrall (R- Lakeville) have
helped facilitate the introduction of the technology to policy leaders in Washington D.C. and in
Massachusetts. They call the arrangement between the MBTA and Helix a major opportunity for the
transit authority, the state’s largest consumer of electricity, to reduce energy consumption and operating
costs while reducing per passenger mile greenhouse gas emissions.

“Controlling carbon emissions from the transportation sector has been challenging but this agreement
represents an opportunity for the MBTA to accomplish major goals like reducing energy consumption,
dampening pressure on fares and dedicating savings to capital equipment improvements that can help
the entire system,” said Tarr. “I am happy to help raise awareness about the application of this
technology from a company with Massachusetts ties.”

The Helix flywheel has attracted the attention of governments, researchers, and industry leaders
including the U.S. Department of Transportation and recent funding from backers including the U.S.
Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and the
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

“Flywheel technology with its ultrafast response is ideally suited to act as a buffer between the electric
grid and urban rail, reducing energy consumption and thus bringing down greenhouse gas emissions”
said Dr. Imre Gyuk, Director of Energy Storage Research for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Sandia National Laboratory has awarded a $500,000 grant from the Department of Energy’s Office of
Electricity to Helix in support of these technology developments. That grant will leverage matching
funding as part of an additional $2.5 million from the New York State Research and Development
Authority.

"I'm excited to help Massachusetts be showcased as a global leader in emerging technology. This
partnership provides a great opportunity to explore ways of saving energy costs in transportation," said
Representative Keiko Orrall (R- Lakeville).

Able to deliver a full discharge of 1 megawatt of energy in 90 seconds, the Helix system would also be
charged by a subway train’s braking in the same amount of time. By efficiently capturing energy from
an existing use, braking to approach a station platform, the system can yield electricity savings of 30 to
50% while also minimizing short-term peak load spikes on equipment and substations.

Emerging from the Greentown Labs in Somerville, the largest ‘cleantech’ incubator in the Northeast,
Helix Power founders are collaborating with state and federal governments to utilize their technology
which can use 100% of its rated power without loss of performance over time – unlike batteries and
electrical capacitors.

The three year agreement between the T and Helix is intended to produce a full-scale test incorporating
input from the MBTA regarding operating specifications and a full performance analysis that could
reinvent the way metro trains roll.

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