Binghamton University Gets Award to Develop Lithium Battery Manufacturing Plans

Binghamton University is in the running to receive up to $100-million in federal funding to turn the Southern Tier into a battery development and manufacturing hub addressing the growing need for domestic energy production.

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U.S. Senator Charles Schumer along with Binghamton University officials have announced B.U. New Energy NY proposal will get $500,000 in technical assistance funding as a finalist in the competition for Build Back Better Regional Challenge to develop its plans for a Southern Tier energy technology hub and compete in Phase 2 of the competition to establish battery manufacturing facilities.

The project is being led by Nobel laureate and co-inventor of the litium-ion battery, Dr. M. Stanley Whittinham  and Per Stromhaug, assistant vice president of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships.

In the announcement from the University, officials say the regional effort will bring together B.U., SUNY Broome, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY-BEST and others to expand research, development, testing and workforce assets to move the emerging battery manufacturing industry in Upstate New York forward and meet growing clean energy demand.

If fully funded, the project estimates that over a 10-year period as many as 8,000 new jobs would be created directly for this project with possibly thousands more other jobs in supportive fields possible.

In Phase 2, the federal Economic Development Agency will award up to 30 regional coalitions $25 million to $75 million, and up to $100 million for their winning proposals to rework existing or make new regional industry clusters through planning, infrastructure, innovation and entrepreneurship.