STUART, Fla., Nov. 26, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ecosphere Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:ESPH), an innovative U.S. technology licensing and manufacturing company that develops environmental solutions for global markets, today announced that the United States Patent & Trademark Office has approved U.S. Patent No. 8,593,102 for Ecosphere's revolutionary Ecos PowerCube®, a portable, self-contained micro-utility that uses solar power to provide electricity in the most remote, off-grid locations.
Designed to meet the growing demand for off-grid energy, with a unique array of stacked solar panels, the patented Ecos PowerCube® maximizes the total amount of solar power generation possible in 10', 20' and 40' standard ISO shipping container footprints. With power generation capabilities up to 15 KW, the Ecos PowerCube® can be transported by land, air, or sea and is ideally suited to support off-grid military, disaster relief, humanitarian and mobile communication efforts.
Electricity generated by the Ecos PowerCube® can be used to power various onboard systems, including satellite communications, Internet connectivity, and mobile water treatment systems. The Ecos Power Cube® system can also be used to supply military or disaster relief teams with life-sustaining, mobile infrastructure modules, such as hospitals, command centers, sleeping quarters, and temporary schools.
In a recent Bloomberg article dated October 1, 2013, Army commanders have found that they can save lives through energy conservation. This is especially true in Afghanistan, where protecting fuel convoys is one of the most dangerous jobs, with one casualty for every 24 missions in some years. Richard Kidd, the deputy assistant secretary of the Army in charge of energy security, said in a recent interview, "A fuel tanker can be shot at and blown up. The sun's rays will still be there. With renewable energy, there is no supply chain vulnerability, there are no commodity costs and there's a lower chance of disruption."
For more information, please visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-30/exploding-fuel-tankers-driving-u-s-army-to-solar-power.html
The Army is embracing renewables to make the business of war safer for our soldiers, with President Barack Obama calling on the U.S. government to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 28 percent by 2020. In May 2013, the Army announced plans to spend $7 billion buying electricity generated by solar, wind, geothermal and biomass projects over the next three decades.
Dennis McGuire, Chairman and CEO of Ecosphere Technologies, stated, "We are pleased to finally announce the U.S Patent Office's decision to grant our Ecos Power Cube® patent and the commercial launch of the Ecos PowerCube® product line. We believe the Ecos Power Cube® addresses significant infrastructure deficiencies in remote field camp installations or when responding to large-scale disasters. Consistent with Ecosphere's business model, we are seeking to license the Ecos PowerCube® to a wide range of entities, including branches of the U.S. and global armed forces, as well as corporations that provide equipment for the military and a wide variety of disaster relief agencies worldwide."
Dean Becker, Director and Intellectual Property Strategist for Ecosphere, stated, "The Army's target is to install 1 gigawatt of renewable capacity in the U.S. by 2025 and to reduce non-tactical fuel consumption 30 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels. The Ecos Power Cube® is the world's most powerful mobile solar powered generator that can ship in standard 10 to 40 foot ISO container dimensions. It can be shipped by truck, rail, air, and sea -- just like a standard shipping container."
Becker continued, "When you ship and deploy an Ecos Power Cube®, there is no assembly required. Press a button and the solar panels deploy, producing power from the sun. It is a revolutionary solar design that the U.S. Patent Office recognized as being unique and patentable. Unlike conventional solar arrays systems that are placed on the ground or on top of containers, Ecosphere's patented solar arrays can be retracted to protect the panels in the kind of inclement weather that is prevalent in war zones or disaster relief scenarios."
For more information on the Ecos PowerCube®, please visit http://www.ecospheretech.com/environmental-engineering-technologies/powercube
About Ecosphere Technologies
Ecosphere Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:ESPH) is an innovative U.S. technology licensing and manufacturing company that develops environmental solutions for global markets. We help industry increase production, reduce costs, and protect the environment through a portfolio of more than 35 patented and patent pending technologies: Technologies like Ozonix® and our Ecos PowerCube®, which are and can be licensed across a wide range of industries and applications throughout the world.
For more information, please visit http://www.ecospheretech.com
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