The state has awarded $1.4 million to six companies working on new technologies in battery and energy storage, which will help develop working prototypes that demonstrate the ability of these advanced energy storage systems to harden the state’s electric grid and diversify transportation fuels.
Among the grant recipients was RPI in Troy, which was awarded $122,000 to work with Finch Paper of Glens Falls and JNC of Rye to develop high-energy density cathode materials for lithium-sulfur batteries using a low-cost byproduct generated by the paper industry.
According to state officials, the project could result in lower-cost lithium batteries for transportation and stationary storage applications and enable some paper mills in New York to convert a low-value byproduct stream into a high-value cathode material.
The total funding package statewide will help leverage a total private investment of $2 million, according to Gov. Mario Cuomo.
The funding will help to transition new energy storage technologies with proven technical feasibility to a working prototype, the governor said, adding that a working prototype is an essential step along the product commercialization path and increases a company’s opportunity to attract additional investment.
“Investing in New York’s cleantech economy will revolutionize the way we store and transfer energy while creating jobs and supporting our state’s clean energy businesses,” he said. “This funding will help to create new opportunities for manufacturers and researchers around the state to commercialize their products, help the environment by reducing energy use, and ultimately continue to grow our state’s green economy.”
Funding is provided through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) Consortium Bench-to-Prototype solicitation.
“Continued technology advances in energy storage play an important role in the clean energy economy, from the smallest electronic devices to the largest wind turbine and solar power projects. These projects will help promote innovation at all levels, further meeting Gov. Cuomo’s goal of growing cleantech jobs in New York State as well as adding resiliency and enabling more clean energy,” said NYSERDA President and CEO John B. Rhodes said.
NY-BEST Executive Director Dr. William Acker said the awards “demonstrate that NY-BEST member companies are developing and commercializing energy storage technologies that are transforming the way the world uses energy.”
State officials said eligible technologies include energy storage technologies that utilize electrical or electrochemical processes and include batteries, ultracapacitors, fuel cells and related components that integrate these technologies into complete systems. This is the third of six rounds of NYSERDA funding to help members of NY-BEST move promising technologies toward commercialization.
NY-BEST is an industry-focused coalition working to establish New York as a global leader in energy storage technology for heavy-duty transportation, electric grid and other storage applications. NY-BEST was created in 2010 with a $25 million grant from state government to position the state as a global leader in energy storage technology, including applications in grid storage and heavy-duty transportation.
Cuomo’s NYS 2100 Commission, which was tasked with finding ways to improve the resilience and strength of the state’s infrastructure in the face of natural disasters and other emergencies, also calls for the increased use of energy storage technology to improve energy resiliency. These awards will help transition promising new energy storage technologies with the potential to help harden the electric grid, allow on-site power systems to work independently of the grid during a grid outage and increase alternatives to fossil fuels for transportation.