Irvine-based Kurion Inc. has been awarded another lucrative contract from the Tokyo Electric Power Co. related to the massive cleanup efforts at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
The company, which has maintained a low profile in OC despite its key role in stabilizing the plant, will deliver a mobile container system to remove a key contaminant from water stored in hundreds of tanks at the site.
The multiyear contract, believed to be the first of its kind on such a grand scale, is valued in the multimillions of dollars.
“It is a very important award for us,” said Chief Executive Bill Gallo.
The stainless steel system is designed to help the power company reduce strontium, the greatest radiation emitter at the site today, from a growing tank farm that holds about 400,000 metric tons of contaminated water, a volume that’s expanding by 400 tons per day.
It will be delivered to the power plant next month and will take about six weeks to build. It’s capable of processing about 300 tons of water per day.
“We expect the system to be operating in late August or early September,” Gallo said.
The latest Tokyo Electric deal for Kurion builds on a prior contract to remove cesium from Fukushima Daiichi in a project that will last at least a decade, putting the company on track to double revenue annually in the coming years.
That contract is tens of millions of dollars, and by the end of 2016 Kurion will be generating annual revenue well into the nine figures, according to Gallo.
Kurion workers sprang into action at the height of the nuclear crisis, just days after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake jolted Japan on March 11, 2011, unleashing a tsunami more than 100 miles wide that washed away coastal towns and killed more than 15,000 people.
Horizon Worked on Special Olympics
Irvine-based Horizon Communications outfitted several New Jersey venues with wireless connectivity for the Special Olympics 2014 USA National Games, which concluded last week.
Financial details of the contract to be the official Wi-Fi provider for the Special Olympics were undisclosed. The summer games, held every four years, have almost 3,500 athletes in 16 competitions.
Horizon has installed wireless connections at some of the largest venues in the West, including Dodger Stadium and the Honda Center.
Horizon has annual revenue of about $16.5 million and about 100 employees.
Internet of Things
Global sales of components and equipment that power the Internet of Things market will explode to $7.1 trillion by 2020, up 273% from last year, according to Massachusetts-based market researcher International Data Corp.
IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate of 17.5% between 2013 and 2020 in the developing technology that allows users to remotely control or access equipment and devices, such as washing machines or light bulbs, through a smartphone, tablet or Web browser.
Several Orange County companies are vying for a niche in the growing market, including Irvine-based chipmaker Broadcom Corp., smart technology provider GreenWave Reality in Irvine, and Smith Micro Software Inc. in Aliso Viejo, among others.
