Oakland, CA 13 September 2023 – The California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (CalSEED) program is thrilled to announce that 27 new Concept awards have been approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

For the Concept award, 27 companies out of 153 were selected to receive grants of US$150,000 to develop their breakthrough technologies. In total US$4 million of CEC EPIC funds will be invested in clean energy innovations throughout California.

“The CalSEED program has been successful in helping entrepreneurs working on promising climate solutions to get the support they need to scale up,” said David Hochschild, Chair of the California Energy Commission (CEC).

“Through the California Energy Commission’s EPIC research program, CalSEED is helping entrepreneurs turn great ideas into marketable solutions and providing benefits to California ratepayers.”

Concept awardees went through a rigorous process including a review with CalSEED’s curated review committee, who offered their time and expertise to score applications for technical merit, potential for social impact and energy equity, and team expertise. CalSEED’s solicitation is designed as a call for early-stage clean energy innovations that fall within the following technology areas: energy storage, DER integration and load flexibility, transportation electrification, building decarbonization, and industrial decarbonization.

“We’re thrilled to see so many clean energy entrepreneurs who are not only developing cutting-edge technology, but also thinking about circular and inclusive designs in the way they’re implemented” said Rebecca Lee, Managing Director New Energy Nexus California Programs. CalSEED is a program of New Energy Nexus in California.

Each year the CalSEED program selects new and emerging clean technology areas to fund to help California meet its climate goals. Within the upcoming cohort, 2 out of 27 companies are developing solutions to decarbonize the cement industry, which is currently responsible for 8.8% of industrial sector GHG emissions in California. The potential impact of transforming the way in which one of the most used materials in the world is created is one of the many ways the CalSEED program is working to bring the rapid transformation to a clean energy economy.

“This new cohort of CalSEED grant recipients stands at the forefront of new energy solutions and exemplifies California’s innovative ethos,” said Joy Larson, Program Director of CalSEED.

“With financial support, mentorship, connection to a large network, and the support of a community of fellow entrepreneurs, the CalSEED program offers a springboard for entrepreneurs to bring sustainable energy solutions and energy equity into the energy landscape.”

CalSEED is funded through the CEC’s EPIC program, which invests approximately $120 million annually for innovative clean energy technologies and approaches benefiting. the ratepayers of California’s three largest electric investor-owned utilities.

Details of the 27 companies awarded a total of US$4 million:

COHORT 6 CONCEPT AWARDEES:

• ActivatedEnergy is designing and demonstrating a long duration energy storage system for urban environments, where system footprint cost is a driving factor, without the use of lithium or cobalt. This innovation is a system that will store energy in the form of compressed liquified carbon dioxide and will release energy by expanding the gas through a turboexpander, using commercially evaluated and certified components.
• BioZen Batteries is developing a low-cost, carbon-based redox-active electrolyte (“redoxloyte”) fluid for redox flow batteries (RFBs). Redoxolytes are a green-plant-inspired organic chemistry leveraging modular, single-atom scale molecular modifications to tune solubility (capacity), redox potential (cell voltage), intermolecular interactions (lifetime), and manufacturing efficiency (cost). This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of deploying long-duration RFB energy storage on the grid, thereby dramatically decreasing pollution burdens and increasing energy resilience in underserved communities.
• Calion Technologies is developing a zero global warming potential and carbon-negative heat pump using our non-vapor compression Ionocaloric heat pumping technology that will provide a drop-in replacement for vapor compression technologies. Because the ionocaloric technology utilizes the solid/liquid transition instead of the liquid/vapor transition, the ionocaloric refrigerant doubles as thermal storage material and there is never any vapor produced during the heat pumping process, so there is no refrigerant that can harm the atmosphere.
  Carbon Blade Corporation is building an energy efficient hardware solution for carbon dioxide removal that can be placed directly at sequestration/usage locations with no additional cost for electricity or pipeline infrastructure. The proposed innovation is a stand-alone device that uses onboard wind and solar electricity generation to power a chemical process that captures CO2 from the atmosphere in a modular containerized solution.
• C-Crete Technologies is developing a process that turns naturally occurring abundant “non-carbonate” rocks to cementitious binders with significant energy savings, affordability, flexibility, emissions reductions while maintaining similar comfort level and performance for end-users.
  Ceja Engineering Solutions developing a self-powered line mounted wildfire detection system that will employ embedded sensors to continuously monitor for wildfire conditions and provide a remote automatic circuit breaker protective trip if a wildfire is detected.
• CONUSANT is developing and implementing a micro-controller in residential refrigerators to efficiently store thermal energy and permanently shift load on a daily basis. This invention will use off-peak energy to cool the refrigerator freezer compartment below the normal set point of 0 degrees Fahrenheit. By lowering the temperature 2-3 degrees below 0, we can turn off the compressor usage for up to 8 hours. This will help alleviate solar/wind over-generation and curtailment concerns during peak electricity production times and insufficient load,
• EarthEn is developing a flexible energy storage solution that uses CO2 in a closed loop to store 4-100+ hours of energy at a low cost & highly scalable & safe manner. The proposed innovation is an Energy Pod that uses supercritical CO2 (sCO2) as a circulating fluid that is compressed to store excess energy from solar and wind. When excess energy is present, CO2 is compressed into sCO2 at high pressures.
• EELi Technology is developing an economical, efficient, and scalable electrochemical-based direct lithium extraction platform technology using electricity rather than carbon-intensive reagent chemicals. Electrochemical extraction processes (EEPs), in which voltage/current is the driving force to capture ions, provide exceptional lithium selectivity, recovery rate, and rapid processing.
• ENAMP is advancing a distributed energy resources management & EV charging hub that will be an all-in-one solution enabling all residential buildings, even those with limited utility power capacity, to go all-electric. Enamp will use real-time data to implement the instantaneous dynamic control of major electric loads, enabling homeowners to integrate interoperable DERs, electrify major appliances, manage loads during the grid-islanded mode, and charge electric vehicles without the need to upgrade the behind-the-meter distribution system (Utility Service, Electric panel, and subpanels).
• EnergizedAI is increasing EV fast charger uptime through the development of a predictive maintenance algorithm, allowing service to occur before failure. EnergizedAI is developing a tool that will utilize an ensemble of methods including deep learning, forecasting, and statistical survival analysis to identify fast chargers at risk of becoming non-functional. This analysis takes into account multiple data points from each fast charger and local environmental information to derive a charger health score with continuously improving accuracy as feedback from each prediction is incorporated into the analysis and the model is exposed to more data.
• ExPost Technology is developing a reuse and recycling process for end-of-life lithium-ion batteries to conserve critical materials, reduce environmental impacts, and lower material costs of new battery manufacturing. This closed-loop, direct recycling/upcycling technology uses a combination of physical and chemical processes based on pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy.
• Furno Materials. is producing Portland cement using small cement plant technology that will leverage hydrogen fuel and waste recycled concrete fines to produce carbon-neutral cement at >90% efficiency. Furno’s hydrogen-fired cement plants with novel reactor design use hydrogen as a fuel, removing the fuel emissions from cement production.
• Grid Science is determining the value of behind the meter DER such as battery storage. The value of DER is determined by local supply and demand conditions in that specific utility circuit, the load capacity, and the reliability of that individual feeder. Grid Science will use sensors to deliver real time distribution power flow telemetry.
• Helios Climate Industries is developing a variable-speed heat pump controller to maximize comfort, minimize operating costs and provide demand response capabilities aligned with the electricity network. The controller will make machine-learned decisions by monitoring the indoor and outdoor climate conditions, Time-of-Use billing, forecasting weather, solar PV production and consumption, thermal and battery storage charge level, and electricity network demands.
• Kinetix Energy Storage is engineering an integrated reluctance motor with a carbon fiber flywheel energy storage system to minimize lifetime project costs for short-duration energy storage applications. This innovation integrates high-efficient system components and maximizes energy storage capacity in a 20 ft shipping container to minimize shipping and installation costs while providing reliable, resilient power for 20 years without degradation.
• Leeta Materials is developing a scalable, microwave-assisted manufacturing process for battery cathode materials. Microwave heating reduces the energy consumption of the manufacturing process and in-situ characterization will allow for direct probing of the material quality. This enables efficient production of high-quality materials while decreasing the environmental footprint of battery materials.
• Mirai Solar is developing, implementing, and testing a self-learning control logic for enhancing the energy use efficiency of greenhouses through the automation of retractable photovoltaic shade screens. This smart algorithm will pull from relevant data points, both historical and real-time, to make decisions that optimize both the crop growth and electricity output of the greenhouse by choosing when to let the sun fall on the plants or photovoltaic shades.
• Project K is developing a potassium-ion battery that is lithium-free, low-cost, energy-efficient, and long-lived for grid-scale energy storage. The innovation combines old and new battery features, like a Prussian blue analog (PBA) cathode with a graphite anode and an electrolyte composed of a small-molecule organic solvent; conductive salts; and stabilizing additive into a device with an architecture that is essentially identical to that of contemporary, mass-produced lithium-ion batteries.
• Root 121, Inc. is demonstrating a sodium-ion cathode manufacturing technology that will enable an affordable and domestically resilient battery supply chain. The proposed innovation is a vertically integrated process to manufacture high-energy density sodium-ion cathodes and a materials optimization methodology that uses data collected during manufacturing, materials characterization, and battery testing.
• Scalvy is designing and demonstrate a fully modular and granular drivetrain system for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to accelerate the electrification of this sector. This project enables low-volume OEMs to electrify their fleets using simple integration and an easier-to-access supply chain while operating efficiently. The drivetrain system will be composed of tens to hundreds of modular self-controlled drivetrain building blocks operating to drive the traction motor, charge the battery packs, supply the electronic loads, and perform the battery management system functionalities.
• Sea Dragon Energy is developing an energy management system for homeowners to monitor and control circuits using their existing circuit breaker panel. The innovation, mPower, will better utilize self-generated and stored energy while on or off grid and is easily installed into an existing panel, by snapping it into an empty slot, without requiring replacement of the panel.
• Solar Ice is building a prototype of a solar thermal-powered absorption air conditioning & refrigeration system utilizing high efficiency solar collectors, modern absorption chillers, and state-of-the-art phase change material storage. Compared to conventional systems, this solar thermal cooling innovation will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality by operating without the HCFC refrigerants, and eliminating the compressor drastically reduces energy consumption, translating to cost savings and system reliability while eliminating the constant noise and vibration.
• Sunchem is developing and scale up a low-cost precision Nano Filtration device that can continuously capture critical metals used for the clean energy transition from any complex water mixtures. The Nano Filter (NF) technology is based on a library of compositions made up of highly porous sponge-like metal-organic framework (MOF) and polymer building blocks that can process complex water mixtures for precision separation and concentration of metals that are critical for the creation of renewable energy sources and storage such as solar photovoltaic cells, batteries and onshore/offshore wind.
• ThermoShade is developing a passive cooling panel that can be installed above outdoor spaces, creating a shady space that feels up to 20°F cooler than the outside air. ThermoShade integrates ultra-reflective coatings, which reflect >90% of the Sun’s energy, and phase change materials, which release stored cool thermal energy during the daytime heat, and recharge at night when temperatures drop, into a modular, highly scalable design. ThermoShade will work 24/7 with zero electricity, zero water, and zero upkeep, helping to keep customers cool, while reducing their electricity and water bills.
• Waste Salt Technologies LLC is demonstrating a process that repurposes the unseparated and minimally processed solid salt of the desalination process in an inexpensive, safe, modular, and scalable Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system that can be used to store thermal energy. Waste Salt Technologies’ approach includes physical and chemical steps to prepare the salt and involves a data-driven procedure for designing a heat exchanger that can thermally interact with the processed salt to provide and extract thermal energy.
• Westwood Aerogel is incorporating aerogel technology into energy efficient window designs. Sol-gel Solutions produces ambiently dried aerogel technology that will be applied through an optically clear adhesive onto a pane of window and assembled into insulating glass units. It is transparent, has extremely low thermal conductivities, and unlike existing technologies, can be mass produced in a continuous line process.

About CalSEED

CalSEED is funded through the CEC’s EPIC program which invests approximately $120M annually for innovative clean energy technologies and approaches benefiting the ratepayers of California’s three largest electric investor-owned utilities. Through the CalSEED initiative US$25M will be deployed to back over 80 startups in coming years. CalSEED is administered by New Energy Nexus.

About the California Energy Commission

The California Energy Commission is leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future. It has seven core responsibilities: developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy innovation, advancing state energy policy, certifying thermal power plants, and preparing for energy emergencies. For more information, please go to energy.gov.ca .

Jakarta, 13 September 2023 – The government of Indonesia should play a more active role in growing the country’s nascent cleantech startup ecosystem, which is critical to accelerating the energy transition and unlocking the economic potential of clean energy, according to a report from New Energy Nexus Indonesia: Clean Energy Technology Startups in Indonesia: How the Government Can Help the Ecosystem.

Government support is crucial given that the majority of cleantech startups in Indonesia are still in the early stage of development, and often struggle to obtain support and funding for their technology and business.

“The Indonesian government should learn from other countries, and create an environment for cleantech startups to thrive. This support could be in the form of fiscal, financial, and non-financial support accessible to actors in the cleantech startup ecosystem such as startups, venture capital, incubators, and others,” said Pamela Simamora, the lead author of the report at New Energy Nexus Indonesia.

“The support needed for clean energy startups is different from any other established digital startups for instance, the majority of these startups are hardware-based and require a more intensive R&D for their technology development.”

The report survey showed that 22 out of 35 cleantech startups have a runway of less than six months – whereas startups should ideally have a runway of at least 18 months. The survey results also show that the majority of cleantech startups in Indonesia are still bootstrapping and have not been able to secure external funding.

The report highlights several challenges faced by cleantech startups, ranging from difficulty in accessing funding, limited R&D funds for technology development, difficulty in finding a skilled workforce in the clean energy technology field, as well as the weak regulatory framework in the sector. In addition, the majority of venture capital firms mentioned in the report that the limited number of cleantech startups in their portfolios is not due to a lack of interest in this sector, but rather due to the high risks in the clean energy sector in Indonesia given inadequate policies and regulations. The same is mentioned by business incubators and similar organizations surveyed in this report.

Steps the government can take to support cleantech startup.

“Indonesia can learn from other countries that have already developed cleantech startup ecosystems. For example, the provincial government of British Columbia in Canada provides incentives in the form of tax credits for investors who invest in early-stage companies in the clean energy technology sector.”

“In addition, incubation programs, accelerations, and startup competitions organized by various ministries and government agencies need to be aligned to maximize their impact on the startup ecosystem and eliminate overlapping programs,” said Pamela Simamora, the lead author of the report at New Energy Nexus Indonesia.

“The government, for example, can differentiate each program based on the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of startups participating in programs like Startup4industry, ETIC KESDM, PLN Elevation, and PPBR BRIN. This aligns with best practices in countries like the United States, Chile, and Morocco.”

Additional recommendations:

• The government could catalyze private investment in cleantech startups by mobilizing state-owned venture capital for investment in the cleantech sector and providing a fund-of-funds scheme where the government becomes an investor in selected venture capital funds for early-stage cleantech startup investments. This mechanism is widely used in countries like China and Singapore, which have successfully developed their startup ecosystems, including cleantech startups.

“The government should focus more on early-stage startups rather than late-stage ones to prevent public funds from crowding out private capital from the market,” said Pamela.

• The government needs to ensure that the policy and regulatory framework in the energy sector facilitates a conducive investment climate for the use and development of clean energy technology in Indonesia.
• Strengthening cooperation between the public and private sectors to increase investment in startups, providing testbed facilities to support research and development of clean technology, mandating green procurement practices for the government, and enhancing STEM education and vocational training to prepare a skilled green workforce in Indonesia.

The growth of this sector has tremendous potential for job creation, economic development, and technological innovation. By supporting cleantech startups, the Indonesian government can achieve its climate goals, promote economic growth, ensure energy resilience, and enhance the country’s competitiveness in the global market

View the report here.

Canberra, 11 September 2023 – Australia risks being left behind in the global renewables race unless the Australian Government urgently commits to a new $100 billion Australian Renewables Industry Package, according to a major new coalition of leading renewable energy, business, union, community and investor groups. 

The diverse group of organisations has today joined forces at the Australian Renewables Industry Summit in Canberra to call for ambitious new policies that will secure a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity for the nation.

This follows the government’s commitment made in the last Federal Budget to respond to the passage of historic renewable industry policies overseas, including the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States.

The call for a ten-year $100 billion Australian Renewables Industry Package is endorsed by groups including the Australian Conservation Foundation, Australian Council of Trade Unions, Climate Action Network Australia, Climate Energy Finance, First Nations Clean Energy Network, New Energy Nexus, Rewiring Australia and the Smart Energy Council.

With a global renewables industrial revolution underway, the group says Australia must act with speed and ambition now to fully realise the employment, export, economic, emissions reduction, environmental and social benefits for our nation, businesses and whole community before it is too late.

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has made this a global technology and investment race, at speed. That means funding more ambitious industrial support packages to build new clean industries, attract greater investment and create thousands of new secure jobs, as what is currently happening under the ~US$1 trillion Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S.

The group says a decade-long AU$100 billion new Australian Renewable Industry Package is essential to drive nation-building benefits for Australia.

“Australia is standing at a crucial juncture in our nation’s history,” said Smart Energy Council Chief Executive, John Grimes.“Our world-leading resources and renewable energy potential provide the opportunity for Australia to become a driving force in the global green economy while driving down emissions in line with the science to maintain a safe climate.

“But without significantly greater investment, we simply won’t be able to build the industries of the future, reduce emissions, create jobs or strengthen national prosperity and social equity.”

“We need a far more integrated and ‘big picture’ approach to encourage greater investment, commensurate with the scale of this massive renewables and critical minerals/metals embodied decarbonisation export opportunity for Australia,” said Climate Energy Finance Founder, Tim Buckley.

“A AU$100 billion package will help re-industrialise the nation, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, diversify our export base and revenue streams as well as increase local value-added production, secure supply chains and develop sovereign manufacturing capabilities. This is climate policy as economic policy as national security policy – in the 21st century, these are fundamentally linked.”

“Australia is well placed to seize opportunities in clean energy and manufacturing. We are in a climate crisis and as the largest exporter of coal and LNG in the world, Australia has a unique opportunity to take a leading role in decarbonising critical industries such as iron and steel. The Australian Renewable Industry Package is needed to reduce industrial emissions and retain a safe climate,” said Australian Conservation Foundation CEO, Kelly O’Shanassy.

“The U.S., Canada, European Union, India, Korea and Japan are already committing hundreds of billions of dollars towards clean industrial support packages – Australia needs to take big action now to fulfill our enormous clean energy potential and create hundreds of thousands of well-paid, safe and secure jobs. Both the urgency of the climate crisis and the enormity of the clean energy opportunity for workers, their families and communities call for a bold, ambitious, fair and timely response from government,” said Australian Council of Trade Unions President, Michele O’Neil.

Oakland, 31 August 2023 – The Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement today of US$15.5 billion for domestic EV production and workforce development is a welcome signal but questions remain around implementation. Danny Kennedy, CEO of New Energy Nexus, said:

“This announcement shows the USA is finally getting real about onshoring a resilient and clean lithium and EV supply chain. This is a huge opportunity for innovators, with dozens of startups potentially receiving the backing they need to scale up production.

“It’s time we unleash American ingenuity, and support diverse entrepreneurs working to  address critical issues in the clean transition: building a low carbon lithium battery supply chain, with high quality job creation and inclusive economic development at its core.”

Li-Bridge [1], a public-private alliance convened by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and which New Energy Nexus is a core member, released a report in February 2023 – “Building a Robust and Resilient U.S. Lithium Battery Supply Chain” – that included 26 recommendations to boost the domestic lithium battery industry.

According to the report, the U.S. will not achieve complete lithium battery supply chain independence by 2030, but it estimates the country can capture 60% of the economic value consumed by domestic demand for lithium batteries by that year, generating $33 billion in revenues and creating 100,000 jobs.

“Without reliable access to lithium battery technology, the U.S. has no chance of meeting its 2050 net-zero carbon emissions goal or ensuring an inclusive and socially responsible industry.

“The Administration’s statement is vague on details at this stage, but we will want to see strong measures securing high-road jobs, and partnerships with local communities, tribes and labor groups to ensure benefits flow across the country. This should be especially so in Southern California, where abundant lithium can be produced as a byproduct of geothermal power.

“This vision could lead to a profound transformation of the Salton Sea region, moving beyond primary resources to an economic transformation rooted in innovation and value-added enterprises linking lithium mining with the full lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle value chain.

“This could provide good paying jobs in everything from critical minerals refining, to battery components and electric vehicle manufacturing, to battery recycling and reuse activities.”

Notes:

[1]  Announced in October 2021 by DOE and Argonne, Li-Bridge is spearheaded by three industry trade groups — New Energy Nexus, NAATBatt International, and the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BESTTM) Consortium — with active involvement from DOE national labs and Boston Consulting Group.

Luan Atkinson, CEO Renewable Metals

A lithium battery recycler, Renewable Metals, has won the inaugural Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge Award with its unique technology that turns battery waste into battery metals.

During the Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge awards event hosted by Dan Ilic at EnergyLab in Sydney, Renewable Metals took out the win with a process that achieves more than 95% recovery of the valuable materials in lithium batteries including lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese and graphite, without creating black mass and saving 20-30% of the costs of standard recycling.

Sicona came second, with a University of Wollongong-developed technology to produce next gen battery materials technology used in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries for electric-mobility and storage of renewable energy.

Roev, came third – they convert large fleets of utes to electric, solving unmet demand and managing energy usage.

Fourth place getter was Vaulta, who make recyclable and repairable high-performance batteries. Vaulta’s batteries are designed, assembled and tested at their manufacturing facility in Brisbane.

Megan, EnergyLab; Noah, Roev; Danny, New Energy Nexus

Despite producing almost 60% of the world’s lithium, Australia retains less than 1% of the US$400 billion and rising annual product value. As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “Lithium has an extraordinary capacity. We need to not just dig it up. I want to make sure we use the lithium and nickel and other products we have to make batteries here.”[1]

Ninety-eight percent of the lithium mined in Australia is refined overseas.

Supercharge Australia aims to support lithium battery innovation in Australia and capture more of the lithium value chain, by encouraging export-oriented lithium battery value chain start-ups.

Supercharge Australia is a project of New Energy Nexus, and our partners, Australia’s largest climate tech start-up accelerator, EnergyLab.

Since 2016 New Energy Nexus has supported 5,268 entrepreneurs globally, created more than 6,000 green jobs and mobilized more than $US1.5 billion in investments.

“Australian innovators are uniquely placed to supply emerging and mature global markets with low impact lithium products and resources to support our energy transition with better batteries,” says Danny Kennedy, CEO New Energy Nexus.

“I’ve seen billion-dollar battery recycling start-ups in the United States emerging in the last few years and none have technology as exciting as this.”

EnergyLab has supported Australian start-ups focused on clean energy and climate tech since 2017, with more than 150 program alumni.

“Supercharge Australia helps ensure Australia’s energy security by supporting the development of the technology needed here for the renewable energy transition,”  EnergyLab CEO Megan Fisher says.

Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge Awards event

“Australia is well positioned to capture the full value of the battery and electrification revolution,” she says.

“Australia can become a leader in lithium battery technology, from sourcing to advanced battery and EV manufacturing, and capture massive market opportunities as the world electrifies. But to do this, we need much more activity across all phases of the lithium battery value chain, and this requires more investment and more start-ups to meet the innovation challenge,” Fisher says.

In a fantastic fundraising announcement saved for the awards night, our first follow-on philanthropic donor, Stephen Pfeiffer, generously pledged AUD$300,000 in core funding to Supercharge Australia to charge up the next phase of work on Australian lithium value chain startups.

In the Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge 11 start-ups ranging from developers of novel cell chemistries to electric vehicle up-scalers and critical metals recyclers, were matched with mentors and experts with the aim of bolstering a vibrant national battery ecosystem.

The 11 finalists:

• EV FireSafe for Business, co-founded by firefighters to provide electric vehicle (EV) fire and safety knowledge for everyone working with electrified transport.
• FARSTE DRIVE – Geelong-based, developed a cost-effective hub motor to counter EV motor inefficiency and allow internal combustion engine vehicles to be converted to EVs.
• Gelion – Sydney-based, battery storage innovator developing new lithium-sulfur and lithium-silicon-sulfur technologies to improve battery performance, cost and safety.
• The Good Car Company, founded in Hobart, provides affordable EVs through bulk-buys, direct sales and subscription. They import new and second-hand EVs to help drive a second-hand EV market in Australia.
• Prohelion, founded in Brisbane, designs and sells battery monitoring systems, bespoke lightweight high-power battery solutions, accessories, monitoring and consulting services.
• Renewable Metals, based in Perth, recycles lithium batteries using a novel technology to recover 6 critical metals – lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and graphite – from end-of-life batteries minimising waste by-products.
• Roev, converts large fleets of utes to electric, solving unmet demand and managing energy usage.
• Sicona Battery Technologies uses a University of Wollongong-developed technology to produce next gen battery materials technology used in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries for electric-mobility and storage of renewable energy.
• Sustainable Lithium Cells Australia – Brisbane-based, enables lithium battery recycling and reduces the carbon footprint of lithium battery construction and provides a cost-effective supply of good condition second-life cells for use in e-mobility and energy projects.
• Syenta by the Australian National University,  which makes multi-material additive manufacturing devices for electronics such as solar cells, batteries, sensors, and circuit boards with high resolution and high speed.
• Vaulta – Brisbane-based, makes recyclable and repairable high-performance batteries. Vaulta’s batteries are designed, assembled and tested at their manufacturing facility in Brisbane’s inner north.

Shanghai, China, 22 February 2023 – The 2023 Climate Fintech Accelerator hosted by New Energy Nexus (NEX) has officially started recruitment. It is an accelerator dedicated to the climate finance sector, aimed at accelerating fintech innovation by providing support services to startups such as commercial matchmaking, training, and networking.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges the world is facing today. Solving the problem of climate change requires collective action and innovative solutions in multiple areas.

Carbon trading markets have been launched in several countries and regions, and policies requiring ESG disclosure are increasing in many jurisdictions. The connection between finance and climate is becoming increasingly close, and financial technology has also made progress in the areas of climate and sustainable development.

The 2023 Climate FinTech Accelerator Program will focus on two main application scenarios: “Web3 in Sustainability” and “Carbon Accounts”. It will also focus on eight major industry directions: Payments, Banking, Lending, Investing, Trading, Risk analysis, Insurance Technology (Insurtech), Regulatory Technology (Regtech).

The  accelerator will benefit startups in the following ways:

• Opportunities to access global markets and networking: Startups from all over the world can apply for the accelerator. The accelerator hosts different events to build an ecosystem for startups to communicate and network with industry professionals and potential investors.
• Training and development: The accelerator offers various training courses to help entrepreneurs develop leadership skills and industry knowledge.
• Industry support: Startups will receive support services, such as industrial matchmaking, to accelerate their practical application collaboration with industry companies.

We welcome all entrepreneurs who are passionate about decarbonization and climate change, and who have confidence in their technology and products.. We invite applicants to apply for the 2023 Climate Fintech Accelerator and collaborate with other outstanding entrepreneurs: application in English and in Chinese.

There will be a rolling recruitment, with the deadline for the first batch of applications on March 26, 2023. More information about the accelerator can be found in the application package.

Contact for more information:

Austin Lu, Climate Fintech Associate, New Energy Nexus, austin.lu@newenergynexus.com

Chicago, 15 February 2023 – Li-Bridge, a public-private alliance representing the U.S. battery ecosystem, convened by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and managed by Argonne National Laboratory, released today an action plan to accelerate the creation of a robust domestic manufacturing base and comprehensive supply chain for lithium-based batteries.

Key recommendations in the Li-Bridge report include a buying consortium for raw energy materials, a system of shared pilot lines to speed the commercialization of new battery technologies, significant additional investment in battery industry workforce training, and permitting reform. (Image by Shutterstock/hxdyl.)

The Li-Bridge report — ​“Building a Robust and Resilient U.S. Lithium Battery Supply Chain” — includes 26 recommended actions to bolster the domestic lithium battery industry. Underscoring the need to stabilize policy and spur investment, key recommendations in the report include a buying consortium for raw energy materials, a system of shared pilot lines to speed the commercialization of new battery technologies, significant additional investment in battery industry workforce training, and permitting reform.

The report complements a series of recent government initiatives designed to strengthen the country’s battery and semiconductor industries including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or BIL) and the CHIPS and Science Act, which together represent some of the most significant industrial policy initiatives in U.S. history.

“The Biden-Harris administration investments in battery manufacturing and supply chain have set our country on a path towards a transportation system that provides cleaner and more accessible mobility options, provides good-paying jobs for American workers, and secures our national energy independence,” said Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary David M. Turk. ​“The public-private partnerships described in this report will be crucial to realizing that safer, cleaner future that will benefit generations of Americans to come.”

Announced in October 2021 by DOE and Argonne, Li-Bridge is spearheaded by three industry trade groups — NAATBatt International, the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BESTTM) Consortium, and New Energy Nexus — with active involvement from DOE national labs and Boston Consulting Group. The first collaboration of its kind in the U.S. battery industry, Li-Bridge’s report is a result of collaboration of more than 40 companies, spanning market leaders and startups across the automotive, advanced battery, mining and chemical, and electric utility sectors. Those organizations collectively employ more than 1.2 million people and generate approximately $900 billion in annual revenues.

“This report provides key insights and solutions toward the goal of establishing a resilient domestic manufacturing base and supply chain for batteries, summarizing in-depth discussions between private industry, DOE’s national labs, and federal partners,” said Argonne Laboratory Director Paul Kearns. ​“As the Li-Bridge facilitator between private industry and the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries, Argonne believes adoption of the report’s recommended actions can set the nation on a path for battery manufacturing and supply chain success.”

Fueled by exponential demand, lithium-based batteries and the devices they power are major contributors to economic growth in the 21st century on par with semiconductors. According to the report, if the U.S. cannot establish a secure and stable supply chain for lithium battery technology within its borders, other countries will enjoy the economic growth and job creation that lithium battery technology will create. Today, about 76% of lithium battery cells and the large majority of cell components are made in China (source).

Lithium-based batteries are also critical for achieving U.S. climate objectives. The report states that without reliable access to lithium battery technology, the U.S. has no chance of meeting its 2050 net-zero carbon emissions goal or ensuring an inclusive and socially responsible industry. With U.S. defense applications increasingly dependent on lithium-based batteries, the report warns of the national security risks in relying on batteries and battery components made abroad.

According to the report, the U.S. will not achieve complete lithium battery supply chain independence by 2030, but it estimates the country can capture 60% of the economic value consumed by domestic demand for lithium batteries by that year, generating $33 billion in revenues and creating 100,000 jobs.

“Although we are starting to see activity in the domestic battery manufacturing sector thanks in large part to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the IRA, U.S. industry is still 10 to 20 years behind Asia, and about five years behind Europe, in commercializing manufacturing of this critical technology,” said James Greenberger, executive director at NAATBatt International. ​“The electrochemical storage of electricity will be as important a technology to the economy of the 21st century as the semiconductor chip has been.”

“Battery technologies are essential to achieving a clean energy future, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, and protecting our climate. From enabling renewable energy and providing reliability and resilience for our electric grid to powering our future electrified transportation systems, batteries are at the center of the clean energy transition,” said Dr. William Acker, Executive Director of NY-BEST. ​“By moving forward aggressively with the recommendations Li-Bridge is advancing today, the U.S. will be well positioned to unlock the benefits batteries can provide to improve our environment and our economy.”

“Reshoring supply chains reduces environmental footprints and builds social resilience during the energy shocks we’re facing this decade,” said Danny Kennedy, CEO at New Energy Nexus. ​“We have dozens of start-ups with American-made solutions ready to build an electric future here and abroad with better batteries. The IRA, CHIPS Act, and related industrial policy efforts now need to be augmented with a focus on practical steps, such as pilot lines and workforce training, to ensure we’re including people across the country in this opportunity.”

About NAATBatt International

NAATBatt International is the North American trade association for advanced battery technology. NAATBatt’s mission is to promote the development, commercialization, and manufacture of advanced electrochemical energy storage in North America consistent with the goals of enhancing energy efficiency, reducing fossil fuel dependence, and enabling carbon-free electricity generation. NAATBatt International consists of 270 corporate and research institution members in North America. For more information, please visit www​.naat​batt​.org.

About NY-BEST

The New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) Consortium is a non-profit corporation and industry-led consortium with more than 175 organizational members. NY-BEST’s mission is to catalyze and grow the energy storage industry and establish New York State as a global leader in the energy storage industry. Visit us on the web at www​.ny​-best​.org.