Battery Week returns to Binghamton from Nov. 1-5, with events ranging from hands-on science experiments and demonstrations at the Oakdale Commons, to tours of regional employers and manufacturers in action.
The week of events is hosted by Binghamton University-led battery coalition, New Energy New York, alongside the Raymond Corp. and The Agency, a Broome County IDA. Attendees of all ages and backgrounds will have opportunities to learn about battery science and innovation from experts.
Starting Sunday, Nov. 1, the Oakdale Commons in Johnson City will host Binghamton's second annual Future Innovators Day. Open and free for area families, the day will feature STEM-themed demonstrations as well as space for people to test drive electric vehicles by LUCID Motors. The SUNY Schenectady Mobile Learning Lab will also make a return. There, students can tour a trailer equipped with a robotic arm, 3D printer, and other electrical components, to learn about career paths in manufacturing.
"When I was in middle and high school, I had no idea about any of these careers you could do," said Jacob Sisco, director of workforce development at SUNY Schenectady. "In middle and high school, it's often that you just go to college or you work, and those are all the options provided to you. They don't tell you about two-year programs or learn-and-earn programs. I think just having that knowledge of what else is out there can take away the scarier aspects of it."
Joining the innovators at the Oakdale Commons this year will also be an interactive performance, hosted by Binghamton's School of the Arts. The "Battery Dance" will engage students to learn first-hand how batteries work, by dancing and acting out the pathways of each component within a cell. The performance, according to Christopher Robbins, founding director of the School of the Arts, also aims to raise awareness of the region's growing leadership in the battery sector.
The Battery Dance
The Battery Dance is part of a larger ongoing project called Lithium Landscapes, an effort to explore the lifecycle of lithium batteries, from initial mineral extraction to recycling at the end of life, as well as the societal impacts of the burgeoning battery industry.
Christopher Robbins and fellow artists Colin Lyons, Elizabeth Mozer, and Sarah Nance, alongside Binghamton battery chemist Hao Liu and environmental engineer Yuxin Wang, will collaborate to create public art works in response, ranging from performance to sculpture. So far, the Lithium Landscapes team has toured the laboratories in Binghamton's backyard and flown to Arkansas to visit lithium brines and development sites.
The project is funded by the Provost Awards for Research Grants: A Sustainable World, the Sustainable Communities TAE Seed Grant, and the Broome County Art Council's Arts & Clean Energy Awareness Grant, from the Cornell Cooperative Extension's Smart Energy Choices program.
"I want people to know that the Binghamton area, this and Central New York, are really at the forefront for research and development for the entire nation," Robbins said. "It's not widely known, so I want to find as many ways as possible to get people on board with this, and have pride for their area."
The NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York will hold an information session on Monday, Nov. 2, to showcase its recently announced New York Energy Storage Safety Acceleration program. The session is virtual and open to researchers, entrepreneurs, and other industry partners.
Capping off Battery Week is the Battery Safety Symposium at the Innovative Technologies Complex, as well as a Community Cafe hosted by NENY coalition partner Southern Door Community Land Trust.
This year's symposium will highlight developments in battery safety, particularly in the sector of stationary energy storage. It will bring together experts and policymakers from various backgrounds and disciplines, including UL Research Institutes, the RIT Battery Development Center, Avangrid and NYSEG, and NAATBatt, North America's leading trade association for battery technologies.
The symposium is open to students, researchers, and industry partners alike, according to Ziang "John" Zhang, professor of electrical and computer engineering. He said he hopes the symposium provides educational opportunities on the measures being implemented for safe batteries, as Binghamton University continues to lead research and development in energy storage.
"As a public school, our goal is not only research and education, but also to engage with the public and local community," he said.
Other safety initiatives Binghamton University is spearheading include the B-Safe initiative, which aims to provide a "forensic" up-close on battery safety, as well as training on best practices for fire safety and handling.
"We want to build up the capabilities of telling why batteries go bad, addressing NIMBY, and how we can make batteries safer," said M. Stanley Whittingham, distinguished professor of chemistry and Nobel laureate for his co-invention of the lithium-ion battery. "We hope to build a facility next to Battery-NY to do that."
The Community Cafe will be hosted in the evening at the Broome County Public Library, facilitating informal discussions on issues like affordable housing and neighborhood building. Those who attend the Community Cafe can also learn more about how they can fit within the broader energy storage ecosystem, according to Gladys Brangman, adjunct instructor at SUNY Broome Community College.
"An informed community is a thriving community," Brangman said. "We want to make people aware of the opportunities that are out there, and we want to make sure we're not missing any segment of the population."
