New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Imperium3 New York, Inc., a consortium of businesses spearheaded by three Southern Tier companies, will establish research and development and production operations at the Huron Campus in Endicott, Broome County.
The consortium will invest more than $130 million and create at least 230 new jobs over the next five years. Imperium3 New York will commercialize an innovative technology for making more efficient and less expensive lithium ion batteries while operating the state’s first gigafactory producing lithium ion batteries, producing three gigawatts of batteries by Q4 2019 and growing to fifteen gigawatts.
The Imperium3NY consortium was formed by nearly 10 companies, with three Southern Tier companies serving as its backbone:
– C4V (Binghamton) will provide the core intellectual property
– C&D Assembly (Groton) is supplying electronic board assembly and battery testing
– Primet Precision Materials (Ithaca) is offering advanced processing of materials
Other New York State companies involved include Kodak and CMP Advanced Mechanical Solutions. The general market for lithium-ion batteries continues to grow daily and serves multiple industries, including renewable energy projects, electric vehicle manufacturers, cell phone and other electronic product makers, among many others. Industry experts consider C4V’s batteries to be more efficient and less costly than other lithium-ion batteries on the market today.
Imperium3NY will locate operations at the Huron Campus in Endicott, establishing a new $130 million lithium-ion battery production gigaplant and hiring 232 employees, ultimately ramping to 15 gigawatts of production and hundreds more jobs. To encourage this collaborative effort, Empire State Development has offered performance-based incentives totaling $7.5 million, including a $4 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative grant and $3.5 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits. Additionally, Imperium3NY is expected to qualify for an estimated $5.75 million in New York Investment Tax Credits.
In 2016, C4V was recognized for its innovative battery storage technology when it was named a $500,000 winner in New York State’s first 76West Clean Energy Competition. Administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, 76West is one of the largest competitions in the country that focuses on supporting and growing clean-energy businesses and expanding innovative entrepreneurship in the Southern Tier.
Additionally, Magnis Resources, Ltd., a publicly-traded Australian company, will provide anode materials needed for the consortium to make the innovative lithium-ion batteries; and Boston Energy and Innovation, another Australian business specializing in clean energy, will provide international sales and marketing opportunities.
More than twenty international companies have been qualified by C4V as strategic suppliers of high-quality lithium, electrolyte, separator and other critical raw ingredients to Imperium3NY that includes a Lithium mine just hours from Binghamton.
This announcement also builds on the significant work being done in New York State in the energy storage and advanced battery industries. Earlier this year NYSERDA made almost $22 million available in two separate solicitations for energy storage projects as part of New York State’s long-term investment in the energy storage sector.
In 2010 the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) Consortium was created with seed funding from NYSERDA to position New York State as a global leader in energy storage technology, including applications in transportation, grid storage, and power electronics. NY-BEST’s membership—most of which are New York State based entities—is diverse and includes manufacturers, academic institutions, utilities, technology and materials developers, start-ups, government entities, engineering firms, systems integrators, and end-users.
A report issued by NYSERDA in January found that jobs in the State’s energy storage sector grew to approximately 3,900—a 30% increase from 2012 through 2015. New York’s commitment to clean energy has helped spur the strong growth, which also saw annual industry revenues reach an estimated $906 million during the same time period, a 50% increase.
