Berkeley Lab and Hydro-Québec partner on transportation electrification and energy storage
23 October 2017
Hydro-Québec and the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have agreed to explore collaborations toward the research and development of manufacturing and scale-up technology to advance transportation electrification and energy storage.
The two institutions have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to assess the feasibility of creating a Québec Berkeley (QUBE) joint research center based in the San Francisco Bay Area that will speed up development of next-generation battery materials, processes, and methodologies and conduct manufacturing from pilot scale to pre-production levels. The technologies developed will be transferred to battery manufacturers, leading to job creation in Québec and California.
Hydro-Québec is a world leader in scaling up energy storage to the marketplace, and this MOU provides a unique opportunity for collaboration. Berkeley Lab’s groundbreaking research in this arena is also well-recognized, and this is an excellent way to partner on a project that will provide significant benefits to both Canada and the US. We are especially excited about creating jobs in both Canada and California.
—Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell
Québec and California have each set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets that affect the grid as well as the transportation sector. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 set a target of reducing state greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Québec’s Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires all automakers to generate ZEV credits equivalent to 3.5% of sales in 2018, climbing to 15.5% in 2020.
Hydro-Québec has developed extensive expertise in the area of battery materials scale-up and commercialization for electric vehicles and grid storage. CETEES’ work on advanced materials, particularly for lithium-ion and solid-state lithium metal batteries, has resulted in 30 active licenses, 845 patents, and 370 scientific publications in the last few years.
—Karim Zaghib, General Director of the Center of Excellence in Transportation, Electrification and Energy Storage and Conversion (CETEES) at Hydro-Québec
Wish them the best and hope that it will lead to improved lower cost batteries for EVs and fixed applications.
California & Québec are high labour cost areas and may not the best places for lower cost mass manufacturing, unless automation is used extensively?
Posted by: HarveyD | 23 October 2017 at 12:54 PM