Grid Energy Storage News

General Compression gets into $54.5-million funding round for compressed air

Damian — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:58:45 +0000

Massachusetts-based startup General Compression secured part of a $54.5 million Series B financing for the development of its emerging power storage concept.

The five-year-old company is developing a technology for storing unused energy from wind farms for activating air compression. The company said it is planning to spend on manufacturing capacity in response to possible orders.

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Beacon Power Signs Collaboration and Development Agreement With Gaelectric

Damian — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:57:13 +0000

Beacon Power Corporation (Nasdaq:BCON), a leading provider of advanced products and services to support a more stable, reliable and efficient electricity grid, announced that it has entered into a collaboration and development agreement with a subsidiary of the Gaelectric Group of Ireland. Gaelectric is a significant wind developer in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Montana.

Flywheel storage option for Ireland

Damian — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:55:42 +0000

IRISH wind energy storage company Gaelectric has signed a collaboration and development agreement with US flywheel energy storage firm Beacon Power that could see flywheel storage solutions deployed to provide short-term back-up electricity for wind farms in the United States and Ireland.

A123 Systems to supply li-ion battery modules to Smith Electric Vehicles

Damian — Wed, 18 May 2011 03:59:33 +0000

A123 Systems has reached an agreement to supply battery modules for the entire lineup of commercial electric vehicles manufactured by Smith Electric Vehicles. A123 says that it will begin shipping its 5-kWh automotive-class prismatic modules to Smith for integration into battery packs in the second half of 2011. According to Smith Electric Vehicles, A123′s lithium-ion prismatic modules will first be used in the Smith Newton truck, an electric 7.5-ton vehicle that has been commercialized globally.

Grid-Scale Energy Storage: What are the Real Costs and Who Pays For it?

Damian — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:50:12 +0000

San Francisco, Calif. — We are reporting from an IQPC energy storage event attended by a cross-section of the grid industry from utilities to regulators to the DOE to energy storage technologists. There are even representatives from a few solar firms like First Solar and Solon.

The Networked Grid: Energy Storage Realities

Damian — Mon, 16 May 2011 23:31:43 +0000

Most every article or panel on energy storage labels storage as the “holy grail” or “linchpin” of a renewable energy future. Yet, the grids of countries like Germany or Spain with high levels of penetration of renewables have not collapsed for lack of energy storage. So, is storage really that crucial? Is it pricing that’s preventing storage from catching on? Is it regulatory inertia? Is the technology too immature? Or is it that the business case has yet to be fully understood?

The Networked Grid: Top Five Smart Grid Trends

Damian — Mon, 16 May 2011 23:30:39 +0000

San Francsico, California — David Leeds, the Director of Smart Grid Research at Greentech Media kicked off The Networked Grid Event with a glance back at the ghost of smart grid past and a long look at what Smart Grid 2.0 holds in store.

The Networked Grid: Can Solid-State Transformers Shape the Future of the Grid?

Damian — Mon, 16 May 2011 23:29:29 +0000

One of the panels that I will be moderating this afternoon, on day one of Greentech Media’s Networked Grid conference, focuses on the emergence of solid-state transformers. Though countless challenges exist, the advent of these new systems has the potential to be the most interesting story in the smart grid over the coming decade. The concept of solid-state transformers is not new (EPRI and traditional transformer vendors such as ABB, GE, Siemens and others have been researching this for years), but as with many other breakthrough technologies, timing may be everything. The industry seems to be witnessing a perfect storm of events that could finally take solid-state transformers from the R&D lab to live distribution grid circuit deployments in the next three to five years. What simultaneous industry events are occurring to help make this a reality?

ElectronVault: A New Way to Build Batteries?

Damian — Mon, 16 May 2011 23:28:12 +0000

ElectronVault later this year will take the wraps off of a technology it claims will make it easier for you to get into the market for electric cars and energy storage.

The company, run by the husband-and-wife team of Rob Ferber and Linda Maepa, has developed a technique for quickly, cheaply and comprehensively wiring batteries together to form a battery pack.

Registration Deadline for The Battery Show Conference

Damian — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:36:25 +0000

I just got an email informing, that Super Early Bird rate for The Battery Show Conference ends this week.

Dear Colleague,
Your chance to purchase a delegate pass to The Battery Show Conference at the Super Early Bird rate ends this weekend, and at only $608 this represents a saving of nearly $300. A delegate pass provides access to both tracks of the conference, delegate lunches throughout the three days of the Expo and all exclusive networking drinks receptions, so if you are planning on attending and are not registered as an exhibitor, I recommend registering now and saving.

If you have not yet seen the preliminary conference program, you can see this and register at http://www.thebatteryshow.com/preliminary-program

Join the hundreds of delegates already registered from companies including:
3M
a+f GmbH
A123 Systems
AllCell Technologies
ALTe llc
American Electric Power
Ametek Specialty Metals
Amicell
Applied Power Inc
Arbin Instruments
Asahi Kasei Plastics
Ashwoods Automotive Ltd
Barton Malow
BASF
Battery Solutions
Bitrode
Blue Spark Technology
Branson Ultrasonics Corp
C.L Smith
CAR Technologies
Chemetall
Chroma ATE Inc (USA)
Chrysler
Climatic Dryroom Systems
CODA Automotive
Concepts and Designs, Inc
CPreme Graphite
DAIICHI JITSUGYO
Detroit Testing Laboratory
Digatron
Dow Kokam
DTE Energy
Dunmore Corp
DuPont
Eaglepicher
EDTA
Electricity Storage Association
Electrolock Inc
Electrovaya
Elite Power Solutions LLC
Engineered Materials Solutions
Epec Engineered Technologies
Evans Analytical Group
Exponent
E-Z-Go Textron
FEV
Fives Group
Ford
Futec America Inc
General Motors
Giant Lab
Golden Light HI-Tech
Greenlight Innovation
Groz Beckert
GT Contact Corp
Haijiu Battery Co. LTD
Healey Fire Protection
HEL Ltd
Henkel Corporation
Hibar
Hodess Construction Corp
Hudson Technologies
Johnson Controls Inc
JSR Micro
KEMA
KEMET
LG Chem Power Inc.
Linear Technology
Maccor Inc
Magna E-Car
Maxwell Technologies
Megtec Systems Inc
Metar Machines
Microtrac
Mitsubishi Materials USA Corp.
Nanjing VITES Exhibition Co.,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
NH Research
Nissan
Nitto Denko America, Inc
Novolyte Technologies
NRW Invest
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Panasonic Electric Works of America
Panasonic OEM Batteries NA
PEC Corp
Pike Research
PNE Solution
Porous Power Technologies LLC
Pred Materials
Premier Dies Corporation
Quantachrome Instruments
Readco Manufacturing
Revolt Technology
Ricardo Inc
SAE Battery Standards Committee
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics
SB Limotive (Cobasys)
Scientific Climate Systems
Seal Methods Inc
Shun Wo New Power Battery Technology Ltd
Solid Sealing Technology
Sonics & Materials Inc
Sonobond Ultrasonics
STAPLA Ultrasonics Corporation
Strunk Connect automated solutions inc.
Sunwoda Electronic Co., LTD
Superior Graphite
Tech Sonic Inc
Telsonic Solutions
Timcal
TODA America
Townsend Co
Toyota
TSC Michigan, Inc.
TUV America
Tyco Electronics
Wildcat Discovery Technology
Wiley Rein
Xingtai Naknor Electrode Rolling Equipment Co.Ltd
Xtreme Power
Zeon Chemicals

We look forward to welcoming you to The Battery Show this fall.