Connecticut Green Business Awards
Exulans Corp.
63-8 North Branford Road
Branford 06405
203-876-7822
exulans.com
Founder and CEO: Joe Piteo
No. employees: 10
Piteo is CEO of Exulans Corp., which has grown to a workforce of ten since he started the company in 2002 and incorporated it in 2007. Piteo is the former director of technology for Sikorsky Aircraft, and he worked for Sikorsky’s parent company, United Technologies Corp., for 30 years. In 1992 he started a software development company, MatrixOne, that went public in 2000.
Piteo’s newest venture combines his engineering expertise with a long-time interest in energy production. He worked within the fuel cell arm of Pratt & Whitney in the 1970s.
“There are many technologies that really haven’t been delved into extensively,” Piteo says.
Currently, Exulans is in the prototype and testing phase with several products, and is on the verge of producing its first market-ready products. “In February we plan to go into pre-production to build a few units for delivery to customers who have either signed up or showed an interest. These customers have been partnering with us,” Piteo explains.
The PowerCenter J10, for instance, is designed for residential use, and several homeowners already have paid in advance to reserve units once production begins. The PowerCenter serves three purposes: it acts as a hub that allows a homeowner to easily add on devices such as wind turbines or solar cells by plugging into it, like a “plug and play” system for alternative energy; it acts as a “smart grid” module allowing the homeowner to store and sell electricity back to the utility company during peak demand or brownout periods; and it acts as an uninterrupted power source if the homeowner loses electric power.
“The PowerCenter stores enough power for six hours for the average U.S. home, and it also has an integrated power generator that runs on natural gas or propane as well,” says Piteo, who estimates that the unit will cost between $5,000 and $10,000.
Another product nearing production is the Zephyr T5 wind turbine, a small generating unit designed for the telecommunications industry, which needs alternative methods of recharging cell tower battery arrays. Piteo is also working on a residential version of the wind turbine.
“I believe there is a viable, practical approach to using wind energy,” he says.
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