NY-BEST Newsletter 1-8-2011

Congratulations to NY-BEST member Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Professor Nikhil Koratkar who made international news by developing a new nanomaterial electrode known as a nanoscoop, which could allow charging and discharging lithium-ion batteries 40 to 60 times faster than today’s state-of-the-art. This project is funded by NYSERDA under a NY-BEST research and development award.

We extend a warm welcome to our newest members: CG Power Solutions USA, Curtis Instruments, and Green Charge Networks. CG Power Solutions USA (formerly MSE Power Systems) in Albany, NY, provides electrical infrastructure engineering and turnkey engineering, procurement and construction services to the utility, industrial, and renewable power generation markets. Curtis Instruments in Mt. Kisco, NY, has over 50 years experience associated with development and manufacture of electric vehicle components including battery monitoring, instrumentation, and motor control. Green Charge Networks in New York City is a leader in smart grid infrastructure engineering and is helping to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles and smart technologies through its proprietary electrical management system.

Look for a special edition of NY-BEST News next week detailing President Obama’s visit to GE in Schenectady, NY.

Best wishes for a happy and successful new year!

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RPI Develops New Nanoengineered Batteries that Hold Potential to Charge More Than 40 Times Faster Than Today’s Lithium-ion Batteries
An entirely new type of nanomaterial developed at RPI, and supported under a NYSERDA/NY-BEST R&D award, could enable the next generation of high-power rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and electronics. The new material, dubbed a "nanoscoop" because its shape resembles a cone with a scoop on top, can withstand extremely high rates of charge and discharge that would cause conventional electrodes used in today’s Li-ion batteries to rapidly deteriorate and fail. The research team, led by Professor Nikhil Koratkar, demonstrated electrodes that could be charged and discharged 40 to 60 times faster than conventional battery anodes, while maintaining a comparable energy density. Performance was achieved in over 100 continuous charge/discharge cycles.

NYSERDA-Supported Companies Gain National Recognition in 2010
This past year, several “Made-in-New York” clean energy companies supported by NYSERDA received national recognition or reached significant milestones. The list includes NY-BEST members CUNY and GE who were successful securing $5.5 million in ARPA-E funding to increase America’s competitiveness in grid-scale energy storage. Ioxus, which has received significant NYSERDA and NY-BEST support, also received a "Technology of the Year" Award from Frost & Sullivan for its work in the ultracapacitor market.

E2TAC Seminar: "Energy Storage: Develop Competitive Strategies and Target Markets"
The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering's E2TAC is holding a panel session addressing the opportunities, issues and challenges facing New York State in developing competitive strategies and markets for energy storage. Invited panelists include representatives from the New York Power Authority, Boston-Power, GE Global Research, Hydro-Quebec, Lux Research, the New York Independent System Operator, and others. The session will be held at CNSE in Albany on February 3 from 3:00-5:30pm, and is part of a series developed by the Incubators for Collaborating & Leveraging Energy And Nanotechnology (iCLEAN), which is funded by NYSERDA. There is no cost to attend the event but advance registration is required.

BAE Extends HybriDrive System to Trucks
The HybriDrive series propulsion system developed by BAE Systems is currently enhancing the fuel efficiency and cutting emissions on more than 3,000 transit buses in cities around the world, including New York and London. To meet the needs of applications that have higher operating speeds and less frequent stops, BAE is developing a new parallel hybrid propulsion system to bring the fuel-saving benefits of its technology to medium and heavy-duty trucks.

For more news about NY-BEST and NY-BEST members click here.

President Obama to Visit GE in Schenectady, NY
President Obama will visit the GE campus during a trip to the region on January 11. A detailed itinerary has not yet been released; however, the Times Union reports Obama is expected to visit the site of GE's new sodium-metal battery plant, which is planned to be operational by the end of the year.

AES Unveils New Frequency Regulation System
AES Energy Storage recently opened an advanced lithium-ion storage facility in Johnson City, N.Y., near Binghamton, that sells frequency regulation back to the electric grid. It absorbs or delivers energy at intervals of five seconds, using batteries manufactured by A123. The AES project, which was awarded a federal loan guarantee of $17.1 million is currently an 8MW storage facility and is expected to expand to 20MW by 2011.

IBM Predicts Commercial Metal Air Batteries in Five Years
IBM has unveiled its five technology innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and play over the next five years. The list is based upon market and societal trends expected to transform our lives, as well as emerging technologies from IBM’s Labs around the world. Included in the top five are metal-air batteries.

New York State Adopts Rechargeable Battery Recycling Law
A new law requires manufacturers of rechargeable batteries to operate recycling programs for their products. The rechargeable battery law adds rechargeable batteries from laptops, cell phones, cameras and other electronics to a growing list of products residents of New York State can now return to retailers for recycling or proper management at the end of their useful life.

For more news about New York's Battery & Energy Storage Community click here.

Better Place and Renault Delivering 115,000 Electric Cars in 2011
Electric automobile manufacturer Better Place has scored its latest coup: A deal with Renault to deliver 100,000+ electric cars to Danish and Israeli consumers.

Improved EV/PHEV Batteries Five Years Off -- US Energy Chief
Cars that run on batteries will begin to be competitive with ones that burn petroleum fuels in about five years, the US energy secretary said at the recently-concluded UN climate talks.

The EV vs. Fuel Cell Wars Heat Up As the Cars Head to Market
There are many overlaps between battery electrics and hydrogen fuel-cell cars: both run on electric motors and use electronic controllers. It’s useful to think of a hydrogen car as an EV with a fuel cell instead of a battery pack. The winner could be both.

Airplane Cargo Holds Can Be Too Hot for Li-Ion
The Transport Security Administration has mandated since 2008 that no loose lithium-ion batteries may be packed in with checked luggage. New findings brought to light by the FAA say that lithium-ion batteries are more sensitive to heat and can ignite in a hot environment, leading to concern over more restrictive guidelines for what people can bring when flying.

Scientists Build Microbatteries with Nanowire Hearts
Rice University researchers have built microbatteries, which could power new generations of remote sensors, display screens, smart cards, flexible electronics and biomedical devices. The batteries employ vertical arrays of nickel-tin nanowires perfectly encased in PMMA, a widely used polymer best known as Plexiglas.

New Crumpled Graphene Electrodes Making Ultracapacitors Compete With Batteries
Crumpled sheets of graphene (one-atom-thick carbon) could one day offer a solution for storing energy in your electric car. A Dayton, Ohio-based company, Nanotek Instruments, has recently revealed their vision about making ultracapacitors, for the moment used in hybrid buses, suited for electric cars.

Extension Passed for Federal Renewable Energy Incentive 1603
Congress passed a one-year extension of the Department of Treasury Section 1603 tax grant program in their tax bill compromise. The 1603 program, which was responsible for a large portion of renewable energy projects built throughout the US in 2010, provides a cash payment of up to 30% of equipment costs in place of the Investment Tax Credit. Under the extension, property will qualify if it is placed in service in 2011 or if construction begins before 2012 and the project is placed in service before the applicable credit termination date.

For 36 more news articles from beyond New York State posted since the last NY-BEST newsletter click here.

This news update is provided as a service to members and interested parties of the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium. NY-BEST is an industry-led coalition working to build a vibrant, world-class, advanced battery and energy storage sector in New York State.

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