University-led initiative wins $113M to bolster domestic battery manufacturing, reinvigorate region
Binghamton University’s New Energy New York project will receive more than $113 million to establish a hub for battery technology innovation in upstate New York. The U.S. Economic Development Administration announced in September that the region would receive $63.7 million; the State of New York will support the project with an additional $50 million.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer advocated for the proposal, Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger notes, and New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul offered key financial support. “Distinguished Professor and Nobel Prize-winner Stan Whittingham and our Associate Vice President Per Stromhaug had an idea they believed was crucial to our nation’s energy security,” Stenger said. “We are confident we can turn the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions of New York into the national hub for battery innovation, manufacturing and workforce development.”
Schumer says he expects the project to revive the region, the birthplace of IBM, flight simulation and virtual reality. “I am proud,” he said, “to deliver this once-in-a-generation investment for Binghamton University to the Southern Tier, America’s home for the future of battery innovation, bringing manufacturing back from overseas, and training thousands of workers for good-paying jobs building an industry that will define this century.”
The University will develop a battery technology and manufacturing center in nearby Endicott. Additional projects will support the battery industry and its supply chain.
“This will enable North America to develop batteries rather than sending our technology overseas,” said Whittingham, an inventor of the lithium-ion battery who helped lead the proposal’s development. “We can’t have a supply chain dominated by any one part of the world. We can have batteries that have ‘Made in America’ stamped on them.”
The team consulted with more than 50 companies from every part of the battery supply chain.
“Everyone we talked to has seen the importance of the project and been excited about being part of it,” Stromhaug said. “We are ready to have programs up and running quickly, with the Endicott pilot manufacturing facility open in a year or two. The program will be a magnet for the region and upstate New York, leading to high-paying jobs in development and manufacturing.”