Energy Storage Challenge (ESC) and Electricity Storage Association (ESA) Announce Formal Partnership

November 24, 2010 – Vol.15 No.36

Energy Storage Challenge (ESC) and Electricity Storage Association (ESA) Announce Formal Partnership.

Part of the OmniCompete group, ESC aims to foster innovation and reward excellence in the field of energy storage. Recognising that fossil fuel sources must be replaced by greener technologies, ESC is seeking organisations that are researching and experimenting with innovative models of energy storage.

The partnership between the ESC and ESA relates to their complimentary visions and goals, making this partnership mutually beneficial. Together, ESC and ESA continue to promote the development of energy storage solutions.

"We are excited to see that energy storage has been recognized as an important issue by the Energy Storage Challenge. We hope that the Challenge will motivate participation and foster innovation in the field of energy storage,” stated Brad Roberts, ESA Executive Director.

For the first three years of the Challenge, the ESC will focus on transportable energy storage. Participation in Year 1 neither excludes nor guarantees participation in follow years.

The first year is about fundamental ideas. We will be looking for fresh ideas about systems that can provide transportable energy storage. Proposals must be notably different from existing systems and in this case, an idea is really all we need. Finalists will have the honour of presenting their ideas before sponsors, investors, peers and a panel of independent judges at the Energy Storage Summit in September 2011 and the winner will receive a prize fund of US$250,000 sponsored by the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Office of Naval Research Global (ONRG).

The second year is about systems that are ready for lab demonstration. We want to see systems that can plausibly be implemented within 2-5 years. Systems can still be bench based and may be not completely developed. However, their potential must be evident. As with the previous year, finalists will present their prototypes at the Energy Storage Summit in September 2012 and the winner will receive a prize fund of US$1 Million.

The third year is about systems ready to be tested in the field. Entrants must submit a system that is ready for demonstration as they will be put to the test in real world situations. Finalists will compete against each other at the Energy Storage Summit in September 2013 and the winner will receive a prize fund of US$5 Million.

The first year of the Energy Storage Challenge will open for entrants on 1 January 2011 and will close on 1 May 2011.

The Electricity Storage Association is an international trade association established to foster development and commercialization of energy storage technologies. The membership includes utilities, equipment manufacturers, national laboratories, system designers and academia using the ESA as the leading technical forum to promote a better understanding of the benefits of energy storage in an electricity grid.

Omnicompete offers innovators a respected platform, a targeted audience and the chance to win prize money, high-quality mentorship and invaluable publicity. Simultaneously, it offers government and industry a cost-effective way to find a solution to a problem or gap they have identified, thereby promoting a culture of innovation and creation, inspiring entrepreneurs, challenging the status quo and pushing the limits of technology development. (11/23/10

Links:

Electricity Storage Association
http://www.electricitystorage.org

Omnicompete
http://www.omnicompete.com

Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: No