Platform Lab the Perfect Testing Resource for Velocys

Technology firm finds the "bigger and better" hardware at lower than expected price

Columbus, OH, 2007 -- Velocys Inc. is out to change the way the world produces energy and chemicals. However, they needed help improving their IT testing.

Enter Platform Lab, the nation's only non-profit IT test and training facility.

Velocys, Inc. is coupling advances in microchannel reactors with novel catalysts to create products that far surpass the performance of currently available systems. Velocys, a subsidiary of Battelle Memorial Institute, was launched in 2001 and has already developed a portfolio of 60 patents and received $85 million of investment from industry leading partners, including Dow Chemical, ABB and Total S.A. Velocys is headquartered in Plain City, Ohio, outside of Columbus.

According to Velocys IT Coordinator, Chris Raiter, "Velocys had reached the limits of what could be done in-house and were looking into cluster computing." He added, "We tried parallel processing, but needed to step up to bigger and better hardware." So, they looked outside their walls and to TechColumbus, which led Velocys to Platform Lab.

Raiter contacted Steve Gruetter, Director of Platform Lab, and spelled out the list of requirements. Platform Lab was more than able to set-up a testing environment that met these requirements, and offered up a quote. According to Raiter, "The test required a lot of physical hardware, so it would have been cost prohibitive to do in-house." He was also pleased with the price and wondered if it "can really be done so inexpensively."

The answer was yes, and the test was on.

For the test itself, Velocys was looking for a one-week test of its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, a hardware intensive simulation of fluid and gas interactions in the complex geometries found in Velocys microchannel devices. Velocys performed its initial testing inside Platform Lab, but were then set up to do remote testing via VPN, which provided even greater service and benefit to the firm.

"Our testing went as expected. And working with Steve and the folks at Platform Lab couldn't have been easier," said Raiter. "Outside of cost, their flexibility was great. I literally called up Steve on Wednesday and said we needed two more servers. It was not a problem, and we were using them by Friday. This will definitely be a long-term relationship."

According to Raiter, "Our cost savings compared to doing it in-house was in excess of $10,000." Platform Lab provided six dual processor, dual-core servers with 8 GB of RAM each, loaded with Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster, a Gigabit switch, bandwidth, VPN and a test pod - saving the client over 70% of the cost, for the seven day test.

Gruetter also had positive things to say about Velocys, stating "Our engagement with Chris Raiter and Velocys perfectly illustrates why the Ohio Department of Development funded Platform Lab's growth: a smart Ohio technology firm being able to prove solutions without a cost-prohibitive investment. We look forward to continuing to be of service to Velocys, but more importantly, we look forward to help them better serve their clients."

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