Internationally recognized battery startup brings world-class team, technology, manufacturing expertise and global supplier network to what will be Australia’s first utility-scale lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility
Cadenza Innovation, the World Economic Forum award-winning provider of safe, low cost, high-performance lithium-ion-based (Li-ion) energy storage solutions to battery manufacturers, today announced a licensing agreement with Australia’s Energy Renaissance(ER).
The agreement pairs Cadenza Innovation’s patented technology, design and global battery industry expertise with Energy Renaissance’s advanced manufacturing and sales capability, along with its long-term commitment to employ Australian resources. Complementing other battery manufacturing facilities in operation or planned for Australia, Energy Renaissance’s 1.3 GWh Renaissance One will be the only facility dedicated to providing commercial-scale, high value, reliable and safe energy storage systems specifically designed for hot and humid climates. Given such conditions, the batteries used in those systems have different and demanding requirements that far exceed the capabilities of typical Li-ion batteries.
Energy Renaissance is building what will be one of the Southern Hemisphere’s first Li-ion battery manufacturing facilities in Australia. Established in 2015 by experts in large-scale power engineering, commercial construction, technology and Australian federal, state and local government, the company is backed by Australian public sector groups and private investors. Terms of Energy Renaissance’s agreement with Cadenza Innovation are not being disclosed.
Initially targeting the utility/grid, electric vehicle (EV) and industrial markets, Cadenza Innovation’s patented supercell serves as the cornerstone of its novel architecture. Providing unparalleled simplification in battery pack design, it substantially reduces production and manufacturing costs, overcomes safety issues and improves energy density.
Australia added more stored power capacity–246 megawatts–than any other nation in 2017, according to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. Reflecting these dynamics, figures from the Clean Energy Council of Australia show that the country’s renewable energy and storage project pipeline has surpassed $20 billion worth of investments last year, with 14.6 GW of projects under construction around the country set to deliver 12,000 direct jobs. Moreover, Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that the global storage market will double six times by 2030, with $103 billion in energy storage investments during that period.
“Australia is gaining global attention as a nation with all the resources needed to capitalize on the unprecedented demand for batteries, energy storage systems and renewables,” said Energy Renaissance Chair Su McCluskey. “With rapidly expanding end markets ranging from utilities, transportation and industrials to stand-alone solutions for remote areas, the time is now for our country and our company to step up to this massive, immediate opportunity.”
Cadenza Innovation was founded in 2012 by a team of the world’s pre-eminent Li-ion battery experts. A 2018 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, the company has developed a safe, low cost, high-performance battery technology platform for license to global manufacturers. In addition to its technology platform, Energy Renaissance will leverage the Cadenza Innovation team’s multidecade experience in designing facilities, sourcing and qualifying materials, planning and deploying production lines, and defining optimal supply chains and workflows for battery manufacturing sites. This will complement Energy Renaissance investors’ global prowess in engineering, construction, mining and mineral operations, and power industry infrastructure.
Cadenza Innovation is led by its Founder and CEO, Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud. Co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy, she is committed to environmental sustainability, sharing insights into energy storage and climate change at Davos and for various United Nations groups. Among the foremost authorities on battery chemistry and design, she is an MIT Technology Review Young Innovator award recipient, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame winner and a frequent keynote speaker.
An advocate for women entrepreneurs, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud is featured among Inc.’s inaugural list of Top 100 Female Founders. Cadenza Innovation’s lead investors include Golden Seeds, one of the world’s largest, most active angel networks focused on women-led businesses, and Scale Investors, Ltd., Australia’s female-focused angel investor network.
“The world is deploying clean technologies at unprecedented rates for compelling environmental reasons and because doing so is quickly becoming cheaper than the last-generation energy paradigm,” said Dr. Lampe-Onnerud. “Today, there is an insatiable need for reliable batteries to facilitate renewable energy from solar, wind and hydro as well as for enabling better efficiency for traditional energy sources. Energy Renaissance is moving aggressively to address those requirements in a country that is proving itself a global leader in this transition. We’re excited to play a key role in those efforts.”
In September, Cadenza Innovation and Shenzhen BAK Power Battery Co., Ltd. (BAK), one of China’s largest battery manufacturers, announced that the companies would team to manufacture Li-ion cells and modules based on Cadenza Innovation’s supercell architecture. Earlier in the year, Cadenza Innovation was awarded funding for a demonstration project to further New York State’s nation-leading clean energy and energy storage goals.
Additionally, under its Robust Affordable Next Generation Energy Storage Systems (RANGE) program, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) solicited the battery community to deliver a robust Li-ion battery technology that could meet the cost and driving range requirements for widespread adoption of EVs. Excerpting from the detailed report, “Cadenza Innovation, Inc. (Cadenza) delivered to that goal an innovative battery architecture that improves Li-ion battery safety and, in turn, enables both increased energy density (that translates to longer drive distances) and lower cost.”
About Cadenza Innovation, Inc.
Founded in 2012 by lithium-ion battery experts with more than 125 patents, Cadenza Innovation is capitalizing on its intellectual property, field-proven operational and mass production expertise and partner network to establish itself as a leader in low cost, safe and energy dense storage solutions. Licensing its technology for immediate access, company executives have held key roles at lithium-ion battery cell, pack and system provider Boston-Power, investment firm Bridgewater Associates, consulting firm Arthur D. Little and other globally respected organizations. Cadenza Innovation is backed by funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the states of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, Golden Seeds and private investors. Headquartered in Wilton, Connecticut, the company has advanced technology development labs at 1 Duracell Drive in Bethel, CT.
