CEC Awards Funding To Energy Storage, Clean Energy Projects

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The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded more than $1.585 million to spur research on a variety of energy projects. Funds for the 13 projects come from the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program.

The biggest grant ($600,000) went to Seeo Inc. to develop and test a 25 kWh prototype battery system based on nanostructured polymer electrolytes. The project plans to develop a grid-scale prototype for advanced lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that addresses the safety, cost, lifetime and energy-density issues associated with lithium-ion batteries.

The commission's funding is the cost-share for the company's $6.2 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act award from the U.S. Department of Energy. The total cost of the project is $12.4 million, and Seeo is contributing $5.6 million.


The remaining projects are from PIER's Energy Innovations Small Grant program, which provides money to small businesses, nonprofits, individuals and academic institutions to conduct research that establishes the feasibility of new, innovative energy concepts.

Some of the projects awarded under this program include the following:

UC Berkeley was awarded $49,560 to prove the feasibility of using a new predictive technology to increase energy production from wind turbines using numerical models with light detection and ranging technology;

Green Dot Transportation Inc. was awarded $94,953 to study the use of a mechanized charging device to automatically connect plug-in electric vehicles to the grid in order make electric charging safer and easier; and

Mission Motor Co. was awarded $94,000 to develop a lightweight onboard charging device that can meet the high power demands of an electric vehicle.

A full list of the energy research project awards can be viewed here.

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