UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory

What UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory does

UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory (UCICL) is a university research laboratory housed in the Engineering Laboratory Facility at the University of California, Irvine, operating as a component of UCI's Clean Energy Institute. The lab addresses combustion of alternative and fossil fuels through three reinforcing capabilities: (1) specialized test rigs including high pressure (400 lb/hr, 800 psia) and mid pressure (100 lb/hr, 400 psia) liquid fuel systems and a 117kW boiler simulator facility; (2) advanced laser and conventional diagnostics such as Phase Doppler Interferometry, CARS, PLIF, DPIV, extractive emissions systems, air toxics analysis, and high-speed video; and (3) numerical and statistical methods including Fluent, Star CCM, Chemkin, DARS, and designed experiments. UCICL serves federal and state agencies (U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, California Energy Commission), industry partners across energy, power generation, and transportation (SoCalGas, Capstone Green Energy, Solar Turbines, Collins Aerospace, SDG&E), and graduate students in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Name

UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory

Legal name

University of California Irvine Combustion Laboratory

Website

https://ucicl.uci.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory is a UCI research lab developing advanced experimental diagnostics, numerical tools, and test rigs for combustion of alternative and fossil fuels, serving federal/state agencies, energy and power-generation industry partners, and graduate students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Combustion Research Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Leak Detection, Emissions & LDAR Testing (OGI, methane, fugitive emissions) (EUAEAHAL)

Keywords

• Combustion research
• Laser diagnostics
• Gas turbine testing
• Emissions analysis
• Hydrogen blending

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Research Agreements: Major funding support from research agreements with companies and federal/state agencies for specific research projects
2. Corporate Membership Program: Annual membership fees from corporate members supporting technology transfer, student fellowships, and seed funding for innovative research
3. Short Course Programs: Revenue from Gas Turbine Combustion and Atomization & Sprays short courses offered to industry professionals
4. Donations: Gifts from corporations and individual donors to fill funding gaps, support students, and enable research in new areas

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory (UCICL) is a university research laboratory housed within UC Irvine's Clean Energy Institute that develops advanced experimental capabilities, numerical tools, and statistically designed testing for combustion of alternative and fossil fuels. It delivers short courses, graduate-level research training, and sponsored research/testing services to industrial and government sponsors.

Product overview

UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory (UCICL) is an academic research laboratory within UCI's Clean Energy Institute that provides educational programs and research services. The portfolio consists of two professional short courses (Gas Turbine Combustion Short Course and Atomization & Sprays Short Course), graduate research programs (M.S. and Ph.D.) through UCI's engineering departments, and combustion research/testing services using advanced experimental capabilities including laser diagnostics, computational fluid dynamics, and specialized test facilities for analyzing fuel injection, mixing, and emissions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gas Turbine Combustion Short Course Continuing-education short course covering gas turbine combustion fundamentals and applied topics, delivered to practicing engineers from industry and government sponsors.
• Atomization & Sprays Short Course Continuing-education short course covering atomization and spray physics relevant to combustion systems, offered to practicing engineers and researchers.
• Graduate Research Program in Combustion Technology Graduate-level research training program in combustion technology, producing MS and PhD researchers for industry, national labs, and academia.
• Combustion Research and Testing Services Sponsored experimental and numerical combustion research, including laser diagnostics, high-pressure rig testing, CFD, and statistically designed experiments on alternative and fossil fuel combustion.
• Corporate Membership Program Subscription-style corporate membership giving industry partners access to UCICL research, facilities, students, and technology transfer opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% hydrogen blend testing without hardware modifications demonstrated for Capstone microturbines
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SoCalGascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2022Hydrogen blending demonstration project to safely blend electrolytic hydrogen into existing natural gas infrastructure on UCI campus. Project would test blending up to 20% hydrogen, building upon prior research to establish a statewide injection standard for renewable hydrogen.
• Capstone Green EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 March 2022Partnership with DOE - Argonne National Laboratory and UCI to determine that Capstone microturbine systems can safely operate on 30% hydrogen blended with natural gas without hardware modifications.
• US Department of Energy - Argonne National LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 March 2022DOE partnership testing Capstone microturbines on hydrogen blends; also running tests on 100% hydrogen using Capstone's High Flame Speed injector design.
• Solar Turbines, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 May 2021Partnership to adapt advanced liquid fuel injectors designed for aero engines to accommodate hydrogen/hydrogen natural gas blends. Includes experimental demonstration and development of test hardware for engine conditions.
• Collins AerospacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 May 2021Partnership for development of hydrogen injector/array concepts for high hydrogen content fuels for power generating gas turbines. Led hydrogen injector development using experience and simulations.
• HORIBA GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHORIBA Group partnered with UCI Advanced Power and Energy Program to establish Horiba Institute for Mobility and Connectivity2 (HIMaC2) scheduled to open in January 2021.
• San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint hydrogen blending demonstration application filed with CPUC alongside SoCalGas and Southwest Gas.
• GTI Energy - Hydrogen Technology CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGTI Energy's Hydrogen Technology Center involved in hydrogen blending research providing expertise on integrating hydrogen into energy systems.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI): Industry-funded research organization conducting applied research on hydrogen combustion in power generation, gas turbine emissions, and clean energy systems for utility clients.
• Southwest Research Institute (SwRI): Non-profit contract R&D organization with a large combustion, fuels, and emissions testing program serving automotive, aerospace, and energy clients with comparable experimental and modeling capabilities.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): Leading federal lab for renewable energy and hydrogen research, with overlap to UCICL in biofuels, hydrogen combustion, and clean energy systems integration research.
• Sandia National Laboratories - Combustion Research Facility: Operates one of the largest dedicated combustion research facilities in the U.S., running experimental and computational combustion programs with direct overlap to UCICL's mission in hydrogen, gas turbine, and alternative fuel research.
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL): DOE national laboratory with overlap in hydrogen production, biofuels combustion, and chemical kinetics research relevant to UCICL's programs.

Direct peers

• Argonne National Laboratory: Department of Energy national laboratory that has partnered with UCICL directly on hydrogen blend microturbine testing. Conducts parallel work in combustion diagnostics, hydrogen energy, and transportation fuels.
• Georgia Institute of Technology - Ben T. Zinn Combustion Laboratory: Major university combustion lab with overlapping research in laser diagnostics, reacting flows, propulsion, and emissions, supported by similar DOE/AFOSR funding models and industry partnerships.
• Stanford University - Energy and Combustion Research: University combustion research program conducting parallel work on gas turbine combustion, laser diagnostics, and low-emissions combustion systems for academic and industry partners.

Others

• Clean Energy Institute (UC Irvine): UCICL's parent entity at UC Irvine. Other CEI components (APEP, HORIBA Institute) share the same campus, partnerships, and decarbonization research agenda, providing ecosystem context.

Emerging players

• Reaction Engineering International: Salt Lake City-based specialist in combustion modeling and CFD that addresses adjacent industrial customers in power generation and process heating with overlapping diagnostic and modeling expertise.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uc-irvine-combustion-laboratory-ucicl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory