If you were to make a list of the top five products that will play a prominent role in our future, the battery would definitely be at the top. Batteries power our devices, our cars will increasingly rely on them, and they are a fundamental component in renewable energy grids.
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Last month, a Central Valley almond orchard played host to a meaningful step in our journey to cleaner energy. Employees of tech startup EnerVault gathered around their creation: rectangular metal boxes, sort of like shipping containers with doors, backed by four tall, cylindrical tanks. In the presence of federal, state, and electric grid officials, they…
DetailsCalifornia, land of Google Inc., Apple Inc. and Hollywood, wants to add one more to the roster of industries it dominates. This time it’s energy storage, an absolutely enormous emerging market where it has quietly been developing a substantial lead.
BASED ON EARTH For this second installment of our environmental news column, we’re looking at climate change from wildly different perspectives. We’ll explore whether local green-tech manufacturing firms can help wean California off fossil fuels, highlight some key data from the National Climate Assessment, and hear from an Amazonian shaman who’s fed up with white…
DetailsA few years ago, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and CalCEF joined forces to launch CalCharge, the first-ever, public-private consortium designed to be a “center of gravity” for the California energy storage cluster. And this week, after growing to include more labs and labor support, CalCharge announced its new corporate members at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) advanced manufacturing event in…
DetailsA consortium of the battery technology companies ranging from the huge — Duracell, Hitachi, Volkswagen, LG and Eaton Corp. — to local startups this week formally launched CalCharge, a group tasked with accelerating research around energy storage. CalCharge’s formation buttresses the Bay Area’s status as a center of gravity in energy storage. The new public-private partnership also…
DetailsThe Bay Area teems with startups focused on creating advanced batteries that can store enough energy to run phones, cars – even buildings. Now a unique collaboration between private companies and the federal government could make California the center of this fast-evolving industry. The CalCharge initiative, launched Thursday, gives advanced battery startups easy access to national…
DetailsThe Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC), one of nine centers affiliated with the Institute of Transportation Studies, will receive more than $3 million to initially establish an alternative fuel and vehicle center for northern California. The California Energy Commission tapped TSRC to head a new consortium of academic research centers, public agencies, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to…
DetailsBERKELEY — Venkat Srinivasan, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory staff scientist and director of batteries, drives a nonelectric, non-hybrid Subaru. Within the next decade, he expects advancements made at the Berkeley lab in transportation technology will mean his son — born last year and the reason his second car is not a Prius, like his wife’s…
DetailsWhen Apple released its newest computer operating system a few weeks ago, battery life was the big selling point: one hour more of web-browsing. Laptops, cellphones and electric cars are driving demand for cheaper and more powerful batteries, but battery technology has been slow to evolve. The Bay Area is becoming a hub for start-ups…
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