NY-BEST Newsletter 6-24-2010

NY-BEST members received information in this newsletter about three funding opportunities comprising $23 million. 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/OrganizingMembershipForm for more information.

The next meeting of the NY-BEST Board of Directors will take place by conference call Thursday, July 1 at 9:30. Members are always welcome to observe a meeting.

NY-BEST members see a list of federal, state and other funding opportunities in this section. Click to find out more about becoming a NY-BEST member.

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.

Fifth Annual New Energy Symposium Announced
New Energy New York and the Energy & Environmental Technology Applications Center (E2TAC) at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, in partnership with the New York Academy of Sciences, announce the Fifth Annual New Energy Symposium on August 9-10, 2010 in New York City. Panel discussions include advances in Smart Grid, Photovoltaics, and Energy Storage.

Working Toward the Next Battery Breakthrough
With more patents than any other woman, UB scientist Esther Takeuchi brings fresh perspective to the nation's electrical grid. She holds more than 140 U.S. patents in energy storage and won the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Obama last Fall.

KEMA Sees Opportunities for Storage Applications in High-Penetration Renewables

KEMA released results of a research effort to model the effect of high-penetration renewables on intra-hour system operations of the California ISO. The findings are part of KEMA's report, 'Research Evaluation of Wind Generation, Solar Generation, and Storage Impact on the California Grid,' sponsored by the California Energy Commission.

GE Hybrid Locomotive Development
GE's hybrid locomotive is getting ready for production. The locomotive will use a sodium-metal battery built at a new $100 million battery plant in Schenectady, NY. The plant is expected to open in 2011 and employ about 350 people. The batteries that will eventually be found aboard Evolution hybrid locomotives will likely also be used in backup power systems for the telecommunications industry and for other applications.

GM Puts Up $100 Million to Start its Own Venture Capital Firm
GM sets up venture capital company with $100 million to invest in auto-related technologies.

Rollout of 53 MW Ice Energy Thermal Energy Storage Project Is Underway

Ice Energy announced plans with municipal utility Glendale Water & Power to install 1.5 MW of thermal energy storage on city buildings and local businesses under a $4.25 million program. The project marks the initial rollout of Ice Energy’s large-scale 53 MW thermal energy ice storage project with members of the Southern California Public Power Authority. The project is expected to reduce peak electric demand by shifting up to 64 gigawatt hours of consumption from peak to off-peak periods.

Ice Energy Names David Nemtzow Chief Policy Officer
Ice Energy announced the appointment of David Nemtzow as Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer. Nemtzow had previously advised Ice Energy on regulatory, legislative, and other policy matters as an independent utility and regulatory consultant in California.

GM Selects HP Tο Expand Battery Assembly Operations

HP wіll implement аn Apriso solution fοr General Motors ѕο thаt thе automobile manufacturer саn expand іtѕ visibility аnd control over battery manufacturing аnd supply chain operations. Apriso’s system wіll hеlp GM expand control οf production аnd product quality at Chevrolet Volt battery assembly operations.

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

Ener1 Partners with Russia’s Federal Grid Company to Develop Grid Energy Storage Opportunities

Ener1 signed an MOU with Russia’s Federal Grid Company to help develop new opportunities to use high-performance battery systems to improve the reliability and performance of the Russian electricity system.

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

Global Consumer Batteries Market to Exceed $33 Billion by 2015, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
GIA announced release of a comprehensive global report on Consumer Batteries markets. The world market is projected to exceed $33 billion by the year 2015. The report provides a review of market trends, competitive scenarios, regulatory environment, product innovations/introductions, and recent industry activity.

US Geologists Find $1 Trillion of Mineral Reserves in Afghanistan
The country generated GDP per head of just $800 in 2009, but the new-found mineral wealth could propel the country into one of the world’s most lucrative mining areas. Deposits include iron, copper, cobalt, gold and industrial metals such as lithium.

Record Efficiency for Lithium-Air Batteries
A catalyst developed by researchers at MIT makes rechargeable lithium-air batteries significantly more efficient--a step toward making these high-energy-density batteries practical for use in electric vehicles and elsewhere. The catalyst consists of nanoparticles of a gold and platinum alloy. In testing it was able to return 77% of the energy used to charge the battery as electricity when discharged, beating a previously published record of 70%.

The Coming Bull Market In Lead-Acid Batteries, Part II
The author's analysis demonstrates that lead acid technologies may be undervalued.

Advanced Membrane Systems Proposes to Open Battery Separator Manufacturing Plant
The new venture named UltraLith LLC is expected to start shipping products to battery manufacturers in August and will offer battery separator technology that meets lithium battery capabilities required in Electric Drive Vehicle or EDV applications. The new UltraLith-HP is a non-shutdown polyolefin separator engineered for high power, high density lithium batteries.

Using Carbon Nanotubes in Lithium Batteries Can Dramatically Improve Energy Capacity
MIT study finds using carbon nanotubes for one of the battery's electrodes produced a significant increase — up to tenfold — in the amount of power it could deliver from a given weight of material.

Mitsubishi Aims 70% Jump in Green Ops Orders

Mitsubishi has large expectations for battery growth, as much as 200-300 thousand kWh annually by 2013.

NanoeXa's Quantum Simulation Software and New Li-ion Battery Materials Deliver Key Benefits
NanoeXa seeks US partners to increase production of battery materials by 2011.

New Life Eyed for Electric Car Batteries
More companies eye used EV batteries for localized stationary storage. Experts believe that after seven to 12 years, the batteries might still hold 70% to 80% of the power they could when new.

Smart Plans Tests of Tesla-Powered Cars

Mini-car maker Smart USA said it will test electric vehicles powered by a battery made by Tesla Motors in San Jose and a handful of markets this fall. The cars will have a 16.5-kilowatt-hour battery pack.

A123 Planning Third Battery Tech R&D Site in Mass.
A123 plans to open a third location in Massachusetts to serve its growing electric grid battery operation.

Dow Kokam Breaks Ground on Advanced Battery Manufacturing Plant for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
Dow envisions an 800,000 square-foot, large-format battery manufacturing facility in Michigan developed in two overlapping construction phases. When complete, the facility will employ nearly 800, and have the capacity to manufacture 1.2 billion watt hours of large-format affordable lithium-ion batteries – enough to power 60,000 fully electric or hybrid electric vehicles annually (at 20 KWh each).

Federal Sales 101: 'Winning Government Business'
A seminar designed to help generate better quality government proposals; five dates in different locations.

Storage Week 2010
Storage Week in San Diego, CA, will focus on integrating storage into the grid.

EV Battery Tech USA Conference - September 21-22
This conference in Detroit, Michigan, is designed for senior executives from vehicle manufacturers to gather to explain how their latest technical research on EV batteries will help drive down the cost of the battery in order to accelerate the commercialization of mass market EVs.

For 25 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