NY-BEST Newsletter 3-18-2010

Thank you to all NY-BEST members and guests who attended the First Annual Meeting and Conference last week. Your enthusiasm is the key ingredient to making this consortium a success. We extend a warm welcome to eight new members:

• Center for Economic Growth
• Consolidated Edison Company of New York
• Impact Technologies
• Metropolitan Development Authority
• NewWorld Capital Group
• Progressive Machine & Design
• Stony Brook University, SUNY
• TechCity Properties

Remember, you can view profiles and contact information for all NY-BEST members on our web site here: www.ny-best.org/all_profiles. Or choose "About/Our Members" from the menu.

Also, NY-BEST members can now access our database of testing and characterization capabilities and technical resources at www.ny-best.org/members/assets.   You will need to login to use this feature.  If you don't have an account go to www.ny-best.org/user/register. Any individuals within your organization can register for their own account.  Once logged in, you will see a link to the assets database on the home page and also on the menu under Resources/Assets Database.  After completing these brief steps, if you don't see these links please email info@ny-best.org.

As you’ve probably already seen, ARPA-E has released its third solicitation providing up to $100 million for innovative energy technologies including energy storage. Please contact Jason Doling (jhd@nyserda.org) if you plan to submit a concept paper.  NY-BEST is interested in supporting its members' efforts to leverage ARPA-E funds for technology development and commercialization. 

ARPA-E Funding Solicitation #3: $100 million for Innovative Research Projects
$100 million is available to support three solicitations: 1. Grid-Scale Rampable Intermittent Dispatchable Storage (GRIDS); 2. Agile Delivery of Electrical Power Technology (ADEPT); 3. Building Energy Efficiency Through Innovative Thermodevices (BEET-IT). Concept papers are due April 2.

Department of the Navy Seeks Rechargeable Battery Testers
Department of the Navy requires rechargeable battery testers for up to 36 batteries or cells of 80 volts or less. This is a 100% small business set aside.

Defense Logistics Agency Seeks Batteries
Defense Logistics Agency seeks specific batteries with a 5 year shelf life.

Defense Logistics Agency Seeks Batteries
DLA seeks a multi-year contract for various batteries.

2010 SmartStart UNYTECH Venture Forum
Venture ready companies and early stage university start-ups are encouraged to participate and have the opportunity to exhibit and present their business plan to the investment community May 17 through 18 in Syracuse, NY. Deadline to submit is Friday 3/19/2010.

For more Funding Opportunities click here.

First Round of NY-BEST Research, Development & Demonstration Projects Announced
NYSERDA commits $8 million to develop and commercialize 19 New York battery and energy-storage technology projects.

Companies Developing Better Batteries See Growth Potential in Energy Efficiency
Profiles NY-BEST members General Electric and University at Albany CNSE.

NY-BEST Member Heslin, Rothenberg's Clean Energy Patent Index Results Released - Record High Reached in 2009
Results through the fourth quarter of 2009 reveal the index for 2009 to be at its highest level in the eight-year period of its tracking at 1,125 granted patents, up over 20 percent.

NY-BEST Member KEMA Wins Contract for 1,200MW Offshore Wind Farm in North Sea
Global energy consulting and certification firm KEMA has won the open European tender on the Front End Engineering Design Study for two offshore wind farms in the North Sea. The farms will have a maximum capacity of 1,200MW and produce approximately 4.5bn KWh per year.

Paper Battery Company Hints About Technology
If NY-BEST member The Paper Battery Company gets its way, builders could potentially use its new prototype paper-based battery material in much the same way builders use Tyvek-branded DuPont plastic as a moisture wrap in building construction and roofs in electric vehicles could store energy.

Will ‘Green Battery’ Market Lose its Charge When Stimulus Runs Dry?
Discussion of the energy storage industry in the Greater Capital Region and NY-BEST.

KEMA to Hold 21st Executive Forum March 30 and 31 in Massachusetts
On March 30 and 31 KEMA will host its 21st Executive Forum, assembling a group of key energy leaders to discuss the resurgence of retail energy markets. Based on current registrations, KEMA expects a record turn out for the meeting.

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

Syracuse's Clean Tech Cluster Ranks No. 6 on List of Top 10 "Cleantech Clusters'' in the World
The Syracuse region was recently named one of the world’s top 10 “cleantech clusters” by a venture capitalist who specializes in financing green technology companies.

NYSERDA's 2010 Patterns and Trends Report Now Available
This report is a 15 year review of historical energy prices, consumption, and expenditures.

IBM, Johnson Controls Join Forces to Make Buildings Smart and Green
Battery maker and building automation company Johnson Controls has teamed up with IBM to incorporate IT expertise into green building designs.

For more news about New York click here.

Bitrode's GM-Inspired Master Laboratory Test & Management System
General Motors is now using Bitrode’s fully automated battery test system in their new Global Battery Lab located in Warren, Michigan. Comprised of A&D’s Labminder, iCentral, and Bitrode’s cell, module and pack test equipment, the state-of-the-art A&D iTest EV solution represents a major advancement in world-class battery systems.

Electric Cars: Put a Battery in Your Roof
A nanoscale material developed in Britain could one day yield wafer-thin cellphones and light-weight, long-range electric cars powered by the roof, trunk, and doors. The technology is at least a decade from market.

Technology Improvement Pathways to Cost-Effective Vehicle Electrification
National Renewable Energy Lab study on pathways to cost-effective vehicle electrification (Feb 2010).

Battery Breakthrough Could Lead To Quicker Charges, Larger Capacities
Researchers from Mississippi State University have engineered a new charging method that relies on new developments in molecular dynamics simulations to speed the charging process.

Can Utility-Scale Batteries Rescue Intermittent Renewables?
Discusses where we are today in cost per kWh to use batteries to store power and the latest technologies.

Prudent scores $22M to Rival EnerVault in Grid-Scale Storage
Prudent Energy, a Beijing-based maker of large-capacity flow batteries, has raised a $22 million third round of venture funding. Its products may be too heavy for use in plug-in vehicles, but the company could become a player in grid storage, both in China and the U.S.

Battery, Nanotechnology Partnership Launched by EPA to Protect the Environment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a partnership that will focus on bringing manufacturers of various types of lithium-ion batteries together with EPA and university scientists, non-governmental organizations, and other relevant parties, to help the manufacturers make environmentally sound manufacturing and material choices. This Design for the Environment partnership (DfE) is the first that has addressed an application of nanotechnology, by targeting companies that make lithium-ion batteries with carbon nanotubes.

Mitsubishi Reveals New Hybrid Energy Storage Device
Prototypes combines the long life and fast charge capabilities of an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) with the greater energy storage capacity of a lithium-ion battery.

Where Batteries Go to Be Tortured
Discussion of battery testing capabilities at Sandia National Lab. This may drive discussion of additional capabilities needed in New York that NY-BEST can help procure.

Reportlinker Adds Global Ultracapacitors Industry
New report analyzes the worldwide markets for Ultracapacitors.

Study: Overcapacity will Kill Most Automotive Battery Manufacturers by 2017
Only six to eight large global manufacturers will survive, according to this study.

For more news from beyond New York State 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, currently operating under the auspices of NYSERDA, 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