From Battery Show to Battery Week in Clean Energy Awareness Month

The Battery Show showcases companies from across the world that tout their innovations in battery technologies, supplies and applications. It also doubles as a tradeshow for electric vehicles and everything that relates to that industry. The latest battery technologies and charging capabilities were showcased in Chevrolet, Ford and Hyundai with distance range of up to 500 miles (current average is 300) and decreased charge time. 

The New York State Pavilion, co-sponsored by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Empire State Development, NENY and 14 showcasing companies to illustrate a sample of New York’s ecosystem. Not only are manufacturers and suppliers such as CMP, Raymond Corp. and Re:Build pivoting into the supply chain for batteries, New York State offers a list of competitive incentives for additional companies to set up shop here such as:

• 0% Corporate Income Tax for Qualified Manufacturers
• EXEMPT from Personal Property Tax
• EXEMPT from Inventory Tax
• EXEMPT from Sales Tax on production machinery and equipment at site
• EXEMPT from Sales Tax on fuels/utilities used in manufacturing process

A robust response from New York companies at The Battery Show North America led to New York State reserving a larger space for the 2025 show. Planning has also begun for Battery Show Europe in June 2025. 

NENY hosted Battery Week 2024 in Binghamton at the end of the month. Now in its second year, Battery Week builds on the Fall Technology Conference held by New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium’s (NY-BEST). Battery Week kicked off with tours at BAE Systems, The New Energy Lab at Chenango Forks High School and Raymond Corp.’s new Energy Storage facility. These industry tours were offered to coalition and network members of the Binghamton-led battery initiatives to inform future programs and funding opportunities for growing the ecosystem and workforce. 

Building Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) and Tech Hub coalitions with partners of the NSF Engine gathered at SUNY Broome’s Culinary Arts Institute Oct. 23 for their fall convening. The Economic Development Administration (EDA), as the source for BBBRC and Tech Hub designations and funding, is prioritizing the role of community colleges as a vital component to advancing these regions for boosting economic growth. SUNY Broome has a portfolio of programs that are supported by NENY and work toward workforce preparedness and advancement. SUNY Broome President Tony Hawkins and Director of Workforce Development Danielle Britton discussed their programs in advanced manufacturing in partnership with Broome Tioga Workforce, their Lineman Training program in partnership with NYSEG and their Battery Technician Labs as part of the NENY Battery Academy.

Paul Malliband, executive director of Battery-NY, updated participants about the progress with its cornerstone project in Johnson City. Securing equipment and vendors to build this first-of-its-kind facility in the United States is underway. 

Meera Sampath, CEO of the NSF Engine, addressed the convening with her vision for the engine and ways to supercharge the programs and impacts of NENY. 

“The strong foundation built by NENY’s coalition is a clear illustration that the programs offered by everyone in this room and beyond are a solid beginning to our efforts in creating a ‘Battery Capital of the U.S.,’”says Sampath. “The Engine expands the region of this foundation to 27 counties from 14 and will be supporting ways to expand workforce, commercialization and research and development with this incredible ecosystem.”

Ebony Hattoh, associate director for NENY’s Equity and Justice pillar, led a panel discussion about the region’s workforce with Bob Murphy of Broome-Tioga Workforce, Ashley Madison of IncubatorWorks and Sabrina Henriques of Tioga County Chamber of Commerce. Each shared two marks of success they’ve experienced in their workforce programming and one challenge they’ve been met with. 

“In prior meetings, we heard coalition partners speak about challenges they felt were invisible,” Hattoh said. “I used the opportunity at the convening to have those concerns heard by the overall group. Challenges mentioned included gaps in services for low- to moderate-income earners, but they were also systemic. If our goal is to create jobs, everyone involved has to know the challenges to face them head-on. Coalition building is about sharing challenges and using a team approach to tackle them. Without hearing about the obstacles, we cannot build the bridges needed to overcome them.”

Emily Marino, senior program manager for NENY, led a discussion on the Economic Development District vision and plan with the Southern Tier as an example that can have state-wide impact. Jen Gregory of Southern Tier 8, Stacey Duncan of The Leadership Alliance (IDA) and Omar Sanders of Empire State Development shared their agencies’ visions for the regional strategic plan and how NENY and the NSF Engine are crucial to the plan’s execution. 

“These partners are driving progress through strategic planning that aligns NENY’s goals” says Marino, “ with broader regional economic development objectives, educating the community about NENY’s programs to make the Southern Tier an attractive place for companies and their employees, and tackling critical challenges around workforce, housing and federal funding opportunities. NENY is committed to funding and executing programs that enable this vital, collaborative initiative for upstate New York’s economy.”

Binghamton alumnus Aaron Mair ’84 addressed the group about his experience as a distinguished environmentalist and activist who served as the 57th national president of the Sierra Club, making history as the organization’s first African-American president. Mair’s talk highlighted the impact of elected officials on the environment, energy transition, supply chain and brain drain. 

The crowd moved to the third floor of Koffman Southern Tier Incubator to hear the final pitches from the four companies of cohort 1 for the ChargeUp accelerator program. 

ChargeUp is the only accelerator program in the U.S. solely dedicated to startups innovating in the battery industry. The companies spent the past six months in a rigorous curriculum that prepared each company to be investor-ready. Investors are more likely to invest in a company that has plans and documents in place for operations, human resources, finances, marketing and scaling the business — and not all startups have those in place. 

“The staff at ChargeUp consistently provide exceptional support, almost as if they are members of the participating companies themselves,” said Ray Xu, Co-founder and CTO for Fermi Energy. “The mentors are seasoned domain experts whose guidance is invaluable. Completing the program, we emerged with significant tasks ahead but equipped with essential know-how. Additionally, the ChargeUp network proved tremendously beneficial, enabling us to establish pivotal business relationships.”

Battery Week wrapped up with the NY-BEST Fall Energy Storage Technology and Innovation Conference on Oct. 24. Nobel laureate M. Stanley Whittingham delivered the meeting’s opening remarks alongside William Acker, executive director of NY-BEST. Sampath and Bandhana Katoch, assistant vice president for entrepreneurship and innovation partnerships and the executive director of Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, also addressed participants. A new addition to the conference included the Stanley M. Whittingham Distinguished Poster Award for students in efforts to grow and celebrate research talent in energy storage.

Plans for Battery Week for 2025 are underway as NENY and the NSF Engine work to showcase the region as America’s Battery Tech Hub.