One of the most critical challenges we face in transitioning to a
clean energy economy is having the ability to capture and store energy
so we can use it anytime, anywhere. So, about 18 months ago, Berkeley
Lab and CalCEF began to work together to answer a simple question: “What
can we do to help accelerate the growth of the California energy
storage cluster and solidify its position as a hub for research,
development, and manufacturing of advanced energy storage technologies?

That
initial exploration rapidly expanded to include our other founding
Partner Members including: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, San
Jose State University, the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, and the National Electrical Contractors Association. Our shared
goal – to create a groundbreaking public-private partnership to
accelerate the development, commercialization, and adoption of new
energy storage technologies for the consumer, transportation, and grid
markets.

After many months of collaboration and analysis, we formally launched CalCharge on April 17th
at the Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Summit. As a
part of the event we announced our founding corporate members, including
industry heavyweights like Duracell, Hitachi, Volkswagen, LG, and
Eaton; flow battery makers EnerVault and Primus Power; lithium-ion
startups Enovix, Farasis, and Leyden Energy; and molten salt and glass thermal storage startup Halotechnics.

Through
its programs, CalCharge creates a “center of gravity” for the
California energy storage cluster that enables its diverse stakeholders
to collaborate, identify barriers to emerging technology success,
develop solutions, and help provide access to resources that clear the
path to commercialization. Fresh out of the gates, we already have two
success stories. First, we finalized a dramatically streamlined
mechanism for companies to conduct collaborative research with Berkeley
Lab. Three companies have already used this “EZ-Pass Lane” to design
and start research projects with the Lab in weeks, rather than the
months it could take through traditional pathways. We expect to have a
similar agreement in place with SLAC in the very near future. Second,
we created ‘Battery University’ at San Jose State University, which will
offer the first ever Masters of Science in Engineering with an emphasis
in batteries beginning this fall.

And so, post-launch, we have embarked on the CalCharge inaugural roadshow. First stop – Fremont,
home to an impressive lineup of energy storage/battery companies
already, including two of our founding members, Enovix and Leyden
Energy, (and also home to a little company called Tesla that you may
have heard of). It only made sense to kick off the tour in this
forward-thinking city. We collaborated with Cleantech Open and the City
of Fremont on ‘The Year of the Battery’, a Cleantech Open business briefing in the heart of Fremont’s Innovation District.
We see the potential for tremendous growth of the energy storage sector
and the implementation of its technologies as this area develops into a
major regional employment center. With over 150 attendees at the
event, including battery technologists, entrepreneurs, and VC’s, the
energy was fantastic.

In addition to our corporate and institutional members, cities like Fremont will be key drivers of creating environments where energy storage companies
can thrive. This is particularly important where manufacturing is
concerned. Based on the success of our first collaboration, we look
forward to working closely together with Fremont as CalCharge continues
its year-long Advanced Manufacturing Roadmap project.

Our work at CalCharge has just begun. If you are connected to the energy storage industry, we welcome you to join us in the conversation.