About Element16
About
About Element16
Element16 develops thermal energy storage systems designed to deliver lower-cost industrial heat. By converting electricity into stored thermal energy, the company enables facilities to reduce fuel dependence while maintaining reliable process heat.
The technology is based on sulfur-based thermal energy storage originally developed through academic research and adapted into practical industrial systems. Element16 focuses on building solutions that are economically competitive, operationally reliable, and suitable for real industrial environments
Early
Early Milestones
$3 million funding from the California Energy Commission
DOE-Caltech FLOW Transformational Idea Award recipient
National Science Foundation i-Corps Grant award
USC Synchrotron Accelerator Program graduate (2017)
Team composed of full-time PhDs and engineers
Team
Leadership Team
Element16 brings together researchers, engineers, and industry professionals focused on advancing practical thermal energy storage solutions for industrial heat applications.
Parker Wells
Chief Executive Officer
Parker Wells is the Founder and CEO of Element 16 and an inventor of sulfur-based thermal energy storage technology developed at UCLA. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA and Brown University.
Hamarz Aryafar
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Hamarz Aryafar is Element16’s Chief Technology Officer. He previously served as a Professor at Cal Poly Pomona and a Postdoctoral Scholar at UCLA, where he led a DOE ARPA-E–funded energy storage demonstration. He holds a Ph.D. in Fluid Dynamics from UCLA and has multiple pending patents and numerous peer-reviewed publications.
Richard Wirz
Scientific Advisor
Professor Richard Wirz is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Element16. A UCLA Associate Professor and Director of the Energy Innovation Laboratory, he is the original inventor of the sulfur-based thermal energy storage technology underlying the company’s product. He holds a Ph.D. from Caltech.
