Daily Business Report-March 26, 2019
SDSU biochemist Jing Gu (Photo courtesy of SDSU)
SDSU researcher comes step closer
to harnessing power of hydrogen
as reliable, inexpensive fuel
By Coleen L. Geraghty | SDSU NewsCenter
Hydrogen as a potential fuel source could revolutionize global energy consumption. Not only is hydrogen abundant and renewable, it is also a clean energy source with no harmful emission byproducts.
A San Diego State University researcher has come one step closer to harnessing the power of hydrogen as a reliable and inexpensive fuel. Inorganic chemist Jing Gu and collaborators at Princeton University developed a process to recover energy and electrons from organics in wastewater and generate hydrogen simultaneously using only solar energy.
Until now, hydrogen production from water relied on costly platinum catalysts. The SDSU team developed a more inexpensive catalyst with lower-cost metal sulfide containing molybdenum and nickel. Research by Gu and others in the field is aimed at lowering the cost of hydrogen fuel for potential use in “clean” consumer vehicles.
Additionally, Gu’s team identified the position of specific atoms within the catalytic framework, enabling them to better control the process and make it easier for others to replicate.
“This is an exciting discovery for our group,” Gu said, whose research is supported by the National Science Foundation. “We recovered hydrogen from water using a low-temperature, low-pressure method with small-scale equipment in the lab. And we are among a very few in the field that is able to precisely control the position of metal atoms in the catalyst.”
The framework developed by Gu’s team will allow researchers to determine how certain atoms interact during the hydrogen production process and why some work more effectively than others.
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Local universities compete in NAIOP
San Diego University Challenge
Student teams from three San Diego universities will compete April 25 in a real estate competition for the highest and best use for a mixed-use redevelopment site at the Space and Naval Warfare System Command (SPAWAR) property in Old Town. NAIOP San Diego, the commercial real estate development association, is hosting this ninth annual University Challenge with teams from SDSU’s Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate,
UC San Diego’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and University of San Diego’s Burnham Moores Center for Real Estate.
This year’s University Challenge project site is unique because the U.S. Navy has already requested proposals from professional developers to redevelop the entire site.
University Challenge entries will be judged by San Diego real estate figures Dennis Cruzan of CRUZAN; Mike McNerny of LOWE; Casey Brown of Casey Brown Company; Yehudi Gaffen of Gafcon; Kevin Heinly of Gensler, Kelly Moden of Murfey Company, Mike Paris of U.S. Bank, and Mike Mahoney of Ryan Companies, as well as SPAWAR’s Greg Geisen. Special guest San Diego Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell will address the students and audience.
Where: AMP&RSAND, 350 Camino De La Reina, San Diego.
Time: 3 p.m. Registration; 3:30 p.m. Event; 6 p.m. Reception.
Cost: $20 for members; $50 for nonmembers; $10 for students; $50 after 4/18.
For more information, call Karen Burgess at (858) 509-4110.
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General Atomics breaks ground
on new hangar in El Mirage
Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI) held a ground breaking ceremony for a new hangar being built in El Mirage, Calif. The new facility in the high desert of Southern California will be close to 150,000 square feet and be used to house and test GA-ASI’s latest Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) variant, the MQ-9B SkyGuardian.
“Any time we break ground on a new facility is an exciting day for our company,” said David R. Alexander, president, GA-ASI. “The new MQ-9B represents the latest in RPA innovation, and with increasing interest in this aircraft throughout the world, it’s time to get this hangar constructed.”
The Royal Air Force is acquiring SkyGuardian as part of its Protector RG Mk1 program and is scheduled for first delivery in the early 2020s. Belgium chose SkyGuardian for its defense needs and it is also being considered by the Australian Defence Force, who selected GA-ASI to supply a RPA system for Project Air 7003.
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Preserving the Midway
Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Wei Zhou, from New York City, wipes down a paint locker on the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum. Sailors assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard helped preserve the USS Midway Museum as part of a community relations event March 21. Bonhomme Richard is in its homeport of San Diego. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Cosmo Walrath)
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Northrop Grumman receives $245 million
contract modification from the Navy
GovCon Wire
Northrop Grumman will manufacture another set of systems designed to protect ground troops, vehicles and permanent structures from radio-controlled improvised explosive devices under a $245 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy.
The Navy exercised the two-year option under its Joint Counter-Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare Increment 1 Block 1 system program, the Department of Defense said.
DoD noted work on the JCREW I1B1 will take place in San Diego and the government of Australia will provide $2.1M in foreign military sales funds for the full-rate production of the systems.
Northrop received the $505 million initial FRP contract in 2017. The Navy said at the time of award that the system would have dismounted and mounted variants that could be placed in backpacks, tactical vehicles and permanent facilities.
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HomeStreet Bank completes purchase
of Silvergate Bank’s San Marcos branch
HomeStreet Bank, one of the largest community banks on the West Coast, completed its previously announced purchase of the San Marcos deposit branch of Silvergate Bank, including certain related commercial loans, and hired its business lending team.
With this acquisition, HomeStreet Bank has increased its retail deposit branches to five in San Diego County and 17 total in Southern California.
“I’m excited to join the HomeStreet Bank team and to bring HomeStreet’s broad menu of products and services to our customers,” said Dino D’Auria, HomeStreet SVP, San Diego regional president of commercial lending.
Silvergate employee Christian Weissmann will also join HomeStreet Bank’s team as branch manager. The branch is located at 277 Rancheros Drive, Suite 300, in San Marcos. It began operating as HomeStreet Bank on Monday.
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Like mountaneers, nerves need
expert guidance to find their way
Similar to the dozens of Sherpas that guide hikers up treacherous Himalayan mountains to reach a summit, the nervous system relies on elaborate timing and location of guidance cues for neuronal axons—threadlike projections—to successfully reach their destinations in the body. Now, Salk Institute researchers discover how neurons navigate a tricky cellular environment by listening for directions, while simultaneously filtering out inappropriate instructions to avoid getting lost. The findings appeared in Neuron on March 19, 2019.
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SDX presents 101 ADDY Awards to 27 companies
Creative ad agency i.d.e.a won the Best of Show award for its “Play for All” entry in the advertising animation category at the recent ADDY awards, the San Diego advertising community’s top recognition event. The ADDY awards, organized by SDX, formerly the San Diego Advertising Club, featured 13 Gold, 36 Silver and 52 Bronze ADDY awards presented to 27 companies in 60 professional advertising, digital and graphic design categories, culled from 237 entries.
First-place Gold award winners included: i.d.e.a. (3 Gold, 4 Silver); MJD (4 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze); Mindgruve (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 4 Bronze); PACIFIC (1 Gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze); EatDrinkSleep (1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze); Movetic (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze); BexBrands (1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze). Additional Bronze and Silver award winners included Electra Bicycle Company, San Diego Zoo Global, Pure Cinema, Zion Films, Traina Design, BLVR, Perfect Bar, Grizzly, Outfront Media, Ignyte, Thorn Brewing Co, MeringCarson, Taco Truck Creative, Red Door Interactive, Amalgamated Grommets, San Diego Natural History Museum and Grizzly.
In addition, student awards included 2 Gold, 4 Silver and 4 Bronze. Deelin Francis, a student at the NewSchool of Design & Architecture, won Best of Show in the student category for his logo redesign for The Cat Cafe. Awards were presented March 15 at Liberty Station. For a complete list of winners, visit www.sandiegox.org.
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SoCalGas says energy efficiency programs
saved customers $56.1 million in 2018
Southern California Gas, a subsidiary of San Diego-based Sempra Energy,
announced its customers saved $56.1 million in 2018 on their annual natural gas bills through SoCalGas’ energy efficiency programs. The energy savings also reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing more than 57,000 cars from the road for a year.
SoCalGas energy efficiency programs include offering rebates on hundreds of home appliances and products that help conserve energy and reduce costs. Customers can apply for rebates quickly and easily from a mobile device.
An energy efficient appliance, over its lifetime, will save customers thousands of dollars in energy bills. A tankless water heater can save about $1,500 over its lifetime and a traditional water heater about $200. An energy efficient furnace will use about $550 less natural gas over its lifetime. Smart thermostats, which can learn a customer’s schedule and temperature preferences to adjust the temperature in the home accordingly, can save $125.
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