RICHMOND, Va. — Three Dominion Energy employees have transformed a company competition idea into a groundbreaking invention that could revolutionize portable power generation.
Jake Littlepage, Christina Hanlon and Jonathan Warren — with backgrounds in engineering, chemistry and biology — can now add “inventor” to their resumes after creating the Mobile Battery Energy Storage System, or MBESS.
WTVR
The project began three years ago during an internal Dominion competition where employees pitched innovative solutions.
“We were competing against different ideas that were projected for the company of saying ‘Hey we wanna provide a solution that can be also be beneficial to the community but also profitable for the company,” Littlepage said.
Warren said the team didn’t give up after winning the competition.
“We all came together at this competition and we saw that we had an idea that we won, but it wasn’t there where the idea died or were we gave up,” Warren said.
The result is a 4,500-pound generator on wheels that gets its power from the sun — offering a cleaner, quieter alternative to diesel generators.
WTVR
“I never thought we would get to this point but now that we’re here it’s better than I imagine. It’s quieter than I imagined,” Hanlon said.
The generator has the footprint of a small sedan and can be charged from zero to 100% in four hours using an electric vehicle connection. The inventors say it could keep a single-family home powered for about three days on a single charge.
Dominion partnered with Maryland-based Power Connect to build the unit. Company President Scott Calhoun said what makes it truly first-of-its-kind is its UL 9540 certification, which means it can perform without risk of fire or electrical hazards.
“This is a three-year project that is the safest application on the market,” Calhoun said.
The certification makes it safe for recreation and emergency management applications.
“Especially for temporary housing after a natural disaster, it can power that whole entire community of temporary housing,” Calhoun said.
For Warren, seeing the project come to life has been emotional.
“To come up with something like this, that we can bring to life, but also the fact that it can actually help people… And to see it here, it’s like a real moment you know?” Warren said.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
