Li Zhao Email and Phone Number

Symphergy empowers disadvantaged small enterprises to improve their energy usage and operational efficiencies using electricity data analytics, to achieve better business decisions. Our vision is to provide affordable and easily implemented data analytics services to disadvantaged small enterprises, to help them survive and thrive in the era of AI and digital transformation. Our approach is to utilize easily obtained electricity data, then provide affordable Internet of Things (IOT) solutions that can be easily implemented in a wide range of sectors for small enterprises.

o Led the proposal development of advanced energy solution for disadvantaged communities for EPIC program and awarded with $1.9 million.o Supervised and led 5 projects involving analytics and demonstrations of fuel cells, electrolyzers, hydrogen systems, various energy storage systems and microgrid technologies, at various scales.o Led the power-to-gas (P2G) demonstration project and supported the development of acomprehensive economic model using large set of data generated from sensitivity studies.o Management of research studies, the design of new test facilities and capabilities, the mentoring of graduate and undergraduate researchers, and assuring that project deliverables are met.

• Developed new opportunities and projects.• Led the Microsoft datacenter project phase I and II, installed, tested and demonstrated a 10 kW PEMFC system and two 2.5 kW SOFC systems for datacenter applications.• Developed fuel cell system testing protocol, and designed the experiments for Microsoft data center application with combined heat and power system.• Led the development of experimental and simulation capabilities for investigation of fuel cells and other advanced power and energy technologies.• Led the solid oxide fuel cell manufacturing and system simulation and integration research.• Generated a microbial fuel cell system dynamic model integrated with waste water treatment.• Directed the research on compressed hydrogen energy storage, system integration and renewable hydrogen fueling station modeling and analysis.• Developed Li-ion battery, ultra-capacitor dynamic models to integrate with industrial buildings and distributed energy sources in data centers.• Produced deliverables to government agencies and industrial partners, presented complex sets of results to cross functional teams.• Produced over 15 research proposals to obtain contracts to develop hybrid energy systems.• Mentored and supported 3 graduate students in thesis and dissertation research.

• Conduct research aimed at the iterative production of electrode materials and full cells to improve power density, impurity tolerance, and lifetime of SOFC• Conduct in-situ electrochemical diagnostics and post-mortem physical/chemical characterization.• Production of test stands, test rigs, and other equipment to enable research• Identification, screening, and diagnosis of solid oxide fuel cell anode material candidates.• Represent the program in interactions with project sponsors• Manufactured and investigated next generation solid oxide fuel cell using novel material• Resolved and demonstrated a solution for further commercializing solid oxide fuel cell• Developed dynamic hybrid system models and analyzed dispatch strategies of renewable energy storage in residential and commercial buildings

• Designed, manufactured and characterized a prototype direct coal fuel cell• Formulated and optimized a high performance composite cathode material• One issued Chinese patent on direct coal fuel cell cathode material

•Assisted a nation-wide salary and compensation analysis, covering over 100 Fortune 500 companies. •Designed and developed a VBA program to decrease data processing time by 90%.