NY-BEST Newsletter 10-08-2010

NY-BEST welcomes our newest members:

• American Aerogel Corporation (located in Rochester, NY) manufactures an advanced energy storage material called Aerogel. Currently optimized for insulation applications, they are pursuing development of this material in various energy storage applications including lithium-sulfur batteries, ultracapacitors, and fuel cells.
• Sure Power (located in Lester, Pennsylvania) supplies all manufacturers of UPS, Switchgear and Telecommunications batteries. The company has expert installation teams capable of installing, removing, disposing and testing all types of batteries. They also have new and refurbished UPS systems for sale or rental, including rental trailers with UPS systems up to 750KVA.
• WilmerHale’s Energy and Cleantech practice (located in Boston, Massachusetts) has decades of experience in energy and emerging technologies and have worked with leading energy storage companies on issues ranging from financing, protecting IP, licensing agreements, and structuring strategic partnerships to commenting on legislative and regulatory developments.

A number of NY-BEST members have had significant announcements in the past few weeks including multi-million dollar contracts, awards, and acquisitions. Be sure to check out NY-BEST news for more details.

NY-BEST members received information in this newsletter about funding opportunities. Becoming a member is easy and economical. For 2010, the Board has set the membership fee at $500 to allow a broad membership base to build. Visit http://www.ny-best.org/MembershipForm for more information.

If your organization is a NY-BEST member, simply login to access all funding opportunities. No account? Click "Create New Account" from the login page.

NY-BEST to Have Strong Presence at Advanced Energy 2010
York Hilton! The conference will also feature several NY-BEST members as presenters speaking on advancements in battery and energy storage technology. Designed to showcase New York’s vibrant energy industry, the conference attracts entrepreneurs, developers, manufacturers, end-users, federal agencies, and VCs across a broad range of energy disciplines. “Battery and energy storage technologies are critical to enabling the transformation to smart grid and electric transportation adoption on a broad scale. AE2010 is an opportunity to highlight how NY-BEST members are accelerating market-focused solutions in this industry from R&D to commercialization, and in the process, grow our membership.” says Matt Fronk, NY-BEST board chairman.

Bren-Tronics Wins Military Contract Worth $84 Million
Bren-Tronics has been awarded a contract worth $84.2 million to military batteries to the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

RIT Awarded $13 Million Federal Grant
RIT was awarded a $13.1 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to support construction of a new green facility that will house the university’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability. Only five projects were selected nationwide.

Hinchey announces $10.5 million in research funds for BU
The funding provides $3 million for the Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging Center to develop and evaluate advanced electronic circuitry miniaturization to safeguard U.S. troops in the field; $2 million to enhance patient safety software applications being developed by the U.S. Army; $1.5 million to aid development of a display system to provide accurate visual representations for Army aircrew training simulators; and $4 million for the Center for Autonomous Solar Power to develop uninterrupted solar power sources through flexible solar cells and super-capacitors for electrical storage.

RPI to Innovate the Field of Renewable Energy
RPI set to research nano-structured ceramic capacitors for renewable power with a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The group is developing a new type of ceramic, that would underlie the development of a new generation of energy storage devices.

Ultralife Corporation Receives $1.3 Million Order for its BA 5390 Military Batteries from Defense Logistics Agency
Ultralife receives order for BA-5390 battery units under a maximum five year contract.

Ioxus Acquires Advanced Energy Conversion (AEC) to Deliver Full Range Ultracapacitor Cells and Modules
Acquisition marries Ioxus’ ultracapacitor cell design expertise with AEC’s systems application experience. Ioxus plans to expand AEC’s 12-member staff and retain its New York-based property, creating local jobs and maintaining its status as the only ultracapacitor company manufacturing exclusively in the United States.

Paper Battery Company Presenting at NREL Conference
Paper Battery Company is one of 34 companies presenting at NREL's Industry Growth Forum in Denver on Oct 19-21. The presenting companies were competitively selected by a panel of 120 investors and industry experts and will pitch their business and compete to win the 2010 NREL-Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Venture Award. Companies presenting at the forum since 2003 have collectively raised more than $3.4 billion.

Utility Savings & Refund, LLC Announces Agreement with Prudent Energy International, Inc. to Sell VRB Energy Storage Systems

Just days after the announcement by Vice President Joe Biden of $615 million for smart grid storage, NY-BEST member Utility Savings & Refund, LLC has agreed to become a sales affiliate for Prudent Energy International, the global leader in advanced energy storage based on the vanadium redox battery (VRB-ESS™).

Behind GE's $100 Million Battery Plant - Rising from Old Manufacturing Space
Details on GE's campus rehab for its new battery facility. Reusing an existing facility made the engineering more challenging but also offered some cost savings. Doing so will also help the company earn points toward achieving a Silver LEED certification.

Clean Energy Patents at New High in 2nd Quarter
Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. is pleased to announce results for the first quarter of 2010 for the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index (CEPGI) by the firm's Cleantech Group.

Intellectual Property Update Session October 14 in Troy, NY
NY-BEST member Heslin, Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti, which publishes the quarterly Clean Energy Patent Growth Index, will present an Intellectual Property Update on Global Trends and Growth in Clean Energy Patents on October 14 at Pat's Barn in the Rensselaer Technology Park in Troy, NY. Attendance is free. Registration and networking from 7:30am-8:00am. Program and questions from 8:00am-9:00am.

Ice Bear Saving Polar Bears
New Ice Bear unit at Toronto Zoo saved 95% cooling demand

Toronto Hydro Selects Ice Energy's Distributed Energy Storage Solution to Help Reduce Summer Peak Electricity Demand
Pilot funding provided by Ontario Power Authority's Conservation Fund to bring Ice Bear Energy Storage system to Canada

GE Show on Electric Vehicles
A 5 part video/interactive experience to help users understand electric vehicles.

GM to Develop Electric Chevrolet Cruze
General Motors is building an experimental fleet of electrically powered Chevrolet Cruze compact cars that will have a driving range of up to 100 miles to explore market needs and customer acceptance of battery electric vehicles.

General Motors Awards Contracts for Li-ion Battery Development
All-function Motors has been awarded contracts for the enhancement of advanced lithium-ion array packs. The batteries will be part of All-function Motors’ E-Flex System. This step is a go forwards in making the Chevy Volt a production vehicle.

GM Looks to Give EV Batteries a Life After Cars
GM is working with ABB group on plans for retired battery pack deployment to the grid.

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

California's AB 2514 Signed into Law
The amended version of this bill requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to assess whether to require the State’s utilities to adopt energy storage systems. It would be tasked with setting targets and timelines for utilities to procure energy storage systems. CPUC will now open a proceeding to determine appropriate targets, if any.

China Considers Plan to Force US Automakers to Hand Over EV Tech
A pending proposal from the Chinese government could force US, Japanese, and other foreign automakers wanting to sell in China to share their electric vehicle secrets with China's government owned companies. The nation already has one dominant advantage -- its dominate position in the rare earth metals market. Electrified vehicles use approximately twice the rare earth metals as non-electrified ones and China controls around 95% of the world's rare earth metal production.

US-Made Electric Cars and Batteries Face Export Restrictions
Earlier this year, the Chinese government asked foreign automakers to enter partnerships with Chinese companies, in which they are limited to a minority stake, if they want to manufacture there. In Europe, on the other hand, taxes and regulations on American products will make it far too expensive for exports.

The Cold, Hard Economics of Electric Cars Could Point to Making Them in the US
An economic analysis of why CODA has chosen to build in the USA including rising Chinese wages, an appreciating currency, and higher fuel prices. According to CODA estimates, if exchange rates stayed the same it would cost 22% more to build the battery in the US than China in 2014; but in the long term, borrowing costs, higher wages, and currency changes would drop this cost differential to only 4%.

Study: US Challenging Asia in Advanced Batteries Race
In the global race to develop and produce advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, the United States is well-positioned to be a worldwide leader according to a new Duke University study. According to the study, the US will have a 40% share of global capacity to produce lithium-ion batteries for vehicles by 2015.

Interesting Times in the Stop-Start Systems Market and the Battery Sector
Batteries for idle stop technology may take many forms, including lead acid. Estimated fuel savings range from 5% in government mandated tests and 10% under real world city-highway driving to almost 20% in congested city traffic.

Volvo Could Be Turning Your EV Panels into a Battery Soon
Volvo plans to build vehicle with batteries for doors, hood, and roof. Reduction in weight may be another benefit.

Stanford’s Nanowire Battery Holds 10 Times the Charge of Existing Ones

Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to reinvent rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

Doubling Lithium-Ion Battery Storage
Battery startup Amprius says it has developed batteries capable of storing twice as much energy as anything on the market today, thanks to nanostructured silicon electrodes - portable electronics could run 40% longer.

Rethinking Renewable: A new approach to energy storage for wind and solar
Nano-technologies are being used in capacitors, for high energy density and fast discharge rates

Single Nanowires Provide Unique Tool for Nanoscale Battery Diagnosis
New report shows the effects of a single carbon nanotube, clears confusion of the effects of multiple tubes.

Lithium Battery Risk Back in Focus After UPS Crash
Li-ion batteries are one of the causes suspected in a recent airplane crash, investigation is underway.

The New Resource Wars: What If China Stops Exporting Rare Elements?
Politics with China will be important in the coming years as they control much of the material we need.

House Passes SBIR/STTR/CPP Extension through January 31, 2011
This is the 9th continuing resolution for SBIR.

For 51 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.

Your suggestions and comments for future topics are welcome.

Please email suggestions to: info@ny-best.org