The NextEnergy Center is the Michigan headquarters of NextEnergy, a 45,000 sq. ft. business convergence faciity located in TechTown (Detroit's Entrepreneurial High-Tech Village).

• 18,400 sq. ft. accelerator laboratory
• State-of-the-art training rooms
• 80-seat auditorium
• Demonstration/exhibition space

Flexible lab/education format accommodates diverse needs for research, development, engineering and prototyping

Services provided include:

• Business attraction and acceleration
• Collaborative research, development and technology validation support
• Technical consulting and program management
• Education programs
• Energy policy support     

Microgrid Power Pavilion

Enables AET system integration through a world class test and validation platform, for use by technology system developers, integrators and technicians

The Pavilion includes test bays for the application and integration of on-site electrical power and thermal energy generation technologies, including:

• Fuel cells, internal and external combustion engine generators and renewable power systems
• Thermal recovery and distribution (hot and chilled water systems)
• Advanced communications and controls
• Multiple fuel sources (natural gas, hydrogen, bio and synthetic fuels)
• Modular design and construction provides cost effective installation and operation

Alternative Fuel Testing Platform

For advancing the development and application of hydrogen, natural gas, bio and synthetic fuels

• Test bays for validating and demonstrating emerging on-site hydrogen production systems in a real-world environment, from multiple feed stocks and end use applications
  
• Fully integrated into the Microgrid to provide a comprehensive "system of systems" approach for the advancement of alternative fuel and power generation technologies
  
• Separate fuel distribution and dispensing system for alternative fueled vehicle applications

The NextEnergy Center will demonstrate the workability of AET in an urban location where challenges and rewards are highest.

NextEnergy Engineer of Record:

Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. is a leading planning, design, and management firm of the built environment with offices in Detroit, Michigan, Birmingham, Alabama, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Juarez, Mexico. Offering clients a comprehensive range of facility services, market specialties include the industrial, research and technology, commercial, education, health care, and public sectors.  In 2006, AKA was selected as a winner of the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility in the greater Detroit area and was also named one of Metropolitan Detroit’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.

In addition to working with NextEnergy on their Laboratory Build-Out and Alternative Fuels Platform, AKA has recently completed a hydrogen storage, generation and dispensing facility for a North Dakota Power Cooperative, and is presently engineering a biodiesel production facility in Detroit, MI.  Working in conjunction with DMA Technical Services, Inc., AKA offers design engineering, safety engineering and project management services for a wide range of sustainable and renewable energy applications, with a special focus on alternative energy infrastructure.

For more information on Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., its people, services and projects, please visit www.albertkahn.com. For specific information on projects completed in the research and technology arena, go to Markets, Research & Development.