SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A pioneering initiative designed to accelerate the development of the energy storage sector in California has signed its first corporate members – from international giants to emerging startups.

CalCharge announced the enrollment of Duracell, Hitachi, Volkswagen, LG, Eaton, Enovix, EnerVault, Farasis Energy, Halotechnics, Leyden Energy, and Primus Power at the Department of Energy's (DOE) advanced manufacturing event in San Francisco today.

"Energy storage is the key to unlocking a clean energy economy," said Jeff Anderson, CalCharge President. "CalCharge is positioned to make California the center of gravity for energy storage technology development in the U.S. and globally."

What began as a joint effort of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a DOE national laboratory, and CalCEF to explore ways to support the growth of the California energy storage cluster, quickly grew to include SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, San Jose State University, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractor's Association as the other founding Partner Members. Working together, they developed CalCharge, an independent member-driven public-private partnership.

"The Department of Energy's national laboratories and America's universities are science and engineering powerhouses at the forefront of clean energy innovation," said DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Danielson. "These types of innovative public-private partnerships help leading businesses take full advantage of these world-class resources to accelerate innovation and create good paying jobs right here in America."

"Berkeley Lab is happy to be a founding Partner Member of CalCharge given our several decades of battery technology leadership. That work has led to our partnership in the Department of Energy's Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, for example," says Berkeley Lab Deputy Director Horst Simon. "CalCharge is a great illustration of the ways that national labs, such as Berkeley Lab, can increase industry engagement and drive economic growth."

CalCharge has streamlined access to the national labs for its members.

"The DOE national labs, Berkeley Lab in particular, are national jewels," said Tom Stepien, Chief Executive Officer of Primus Power. "Through CalCharge, young companies like Primus Power can connect with world class scientists and leading edge equipment to more quickly achieve breakthroughs in their technology."

CalCharge offers its members access to programs in Technology Assessment and Acceleration, Professional Development, Pre-Commercialization Support, and Ecosystem Facilitation. This enables them to more easily collaborate, identify barriers to emerging technology success, and develop solutions that help clear the path to commercialization and adoption of energy storage technologies.

"California is home to one of the largest clusters of energy storage companies in the world," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "In the Bay Area alone there are more than 80 such companies and counting. CalCharge will connect California entrepreneurs, multi-national companies, and world-class scientists and provide them easier access to the resources and expertise they need. I am excited to see the progress CalCharge has announced, and we look forward to celebrating more achievements from this collaboration in the future."

"As a young, Silicon Valley-based company commissioning our first grid-scale storage system in California, EnerVault views CalCharge as a valuable resource for building the relationships to grow our market, our company and our team," said Craig Horne, EnerVault Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer. "CalCharge brings together all the stakeholders required to deliver on the promise of California's emerging long-duration energy storage market after the remarkable success of its renewable and solar programs."

Enovix, a local energy storage start-up, recently moved into its first production facility in Fremont, Calif. "Enovix is combining innovative 3D cell architecture with an equally innovative business model to meet the increasing power needs of mobile devices," said Cameron Dales, Vice President of Operations at Enovix. "We see the CalCharge public-private partnership as an innovative model that fits well with ours. We recently moved into our first commercial scale wafer fabrication facility in Fremont, and we are excited to be part of an organization dedicated to California leadership in energy storage innovation and commercialization."

"We're not a big firm yet, but we intend to have a big impact on enabling abundant clean energy," said Justin Raade, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Halotechnics. "CalCharge is simplifying the process for us to access the facilities and expertise of the national labs to advance our technology development. They are saving us time and money, which will help us get to market more quickly."

"CalCharge is connecting innovators across the consumer, vehicle, and grid markets to accelerate the mass adoption of energy storage technologies," said Keith Kepler, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Farasis Energy. "As a manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion cells and energy storage systems, Farasis sees participation in CalCharge as a way of facilitating collaboration with leading technology development teams in the energy storage space. This not only helps us grow our own company, but creates a thriving California energy storage sector that is a key driver of industry growth nationally and globally."

Assistant Secretary Danielson was joined on stage at the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative's Western Regional Summit by representatives from CalCharge's founding Partner and Corporate Members.

About CalCharge

CalCharge (www.calcharge.org) is a battery and electrochemical energy storage consortium. CalCharge brings together emerging and established companies, academic and research institutions, government bodies, and financing sources to jumpstart a new era of energy storage technologies for the electric/hybrid vehicle, grid, and consumer electronics markets. It operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of CalCEF Catalyst, a 501(c)(6) trade association, and is primarily funded by dues and contributions from members.

Media contacts:

BreAnda Northcutt, (916) 446-1955

Sarah Golden, (415) 453-0430

SOURCE CalCharge