Battery startup among companies honored for potential to help transform society
and industry, shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Technology Pioneers 2018 represent program’s most diverse class ever
WILTON, Conn., June 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cadenza Innovation, the closely watched provider of safe, low cost, high-performance lithium-ion-based energy storage solutions for license to battery manufacturers, has been selected from hundreds of candidates worldwide as one of the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Technology Pioneers. Notably, this marks the second time since 2010 that the same founding team has earned the prestigious award – believed to be the only group to achieve that distinction since the program’s inception in 2000.
The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers community showcases early-stage companies from around the globe that are involved in the design, development and deployment of new technologies and innovations. Poised to have a significant impact on business and society, this year’s honorees are the most diverse group ever, with women leading 25 percent of the companies. A majority (54 percent) are headquartered outside the U.S. – representing all continents except Antarctica.
This year’s Pioneers focus on a wide range of technologies, including artificial intelligence, clean tech, decentralized microgrids, big data and internet of things (IoT), biotechnology, blockchain, autonomous vehicles, cyber security, vertical farming and other agricultural advances, and robotics. The full list can be found here.
Established in 2012 by a team of the world’s pre-eminent lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery experts, Cadenza Innovation has developed a low cost, safe, high-performance battery technology platform for license to global manufacturers. Initially targeting the electric vehicle (EV) and utility/grid storage markets, the company’s patented supercell serves as the cornerstone of its novel architecture and provides unparalleled simplification in battery pack design. That, in turn, substantially reduces production and manufacturing costs, overcomes safety issues and improves energy density.
Cadenza Innovation is led by its founder and chief executive officer, Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud. Among the world’s 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. Earlier in her career, Lampe-Onnerud and her team founded and grew Boston-Power from inception through establishing it as the only startup to sell its batteries to HP, along with customers in transportation and other end markets. The company was named a Technology Pioneer in 2010. Lampe-Onnerud and her team subsequently transitioned from Boston-Power as part of its business plan to relocate operations to China to capitalize on what remains the world’s largest market for battery technology. Committed to environmental sustainability, she has shared insights into energy storage and climate change at Davos and for various United Nations groups.
Following Cadenza Innovation’s selection as a Technology Pioneer, Lampe-Onnerud will participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions. This meeting, also dubbed “Summer Davos,” will be held in Tianjin, China, September 18-20. Contributing to Forum initiatives during the next two years, she may also attend the Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2019.
“We welcome Cadenza Innovation into this impressive community of Technology Pioneers,” said Fulvia Montresor, Head of Technology Pioneers at the World Economic Forum. “Front and center in shaping the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution, we believe the company and its fellow Pioneers will be transforming society and industry in a positive way in the years to come.”
“The World Economic Forum plays a critically important role in the global community, especially its efforts to foster the adoption of new technologies,” Lampe-Onnerud said. “Importantly, its commitment to facilitating access to lower cost, abundantly available, environmentally sustainable energy is unwavering. Cadenza Innovation is delighted to be selected as a Technology Pioneer and honored to be included among these other winning companies.”
Earlier this month, Cadenza Innovation announced it had been awarded funding for a demonstration project to further New York State’s nation-leading clean energy goals and support Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s energy storage target of 1500 megawatts in New York State by 2025. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is funding the initiative, which will be located at the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) headquarters in White Plains. The demonstration project will be a stand-alone system that includes a rack-mounted 200kWh, 50kW battery storage unit and will feature Cadenza Innovation’s technology designed to deliver high energy and improved safety at low cost. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2019.
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.”
The Technology Pioneers were selected by a selection committee of more than 60 academics, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and corporate executives. The committee based its decisions on criteria including innovation, potential impact and leadership. Past recipients include Airbnb, Google, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Palantir Technologies, Spotify, TransferWise, Twitter and Wikimedia.
All info on this year’s Technology Pioneers can be found here: http://wef.ch/techpioneers18
More information on past winners can be found here.
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 more than $10 million in Series A investment led by Golden Seeds and has earned funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the states of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Headquartered in Wilton, Connecticut, the company has advanced technology development labs at 1 Duracell Drive in Bethel, CT. For more information, visit www.cadenzainnovation.com.
About World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Contact:
Bryan Grillo
CHEN PR for Cadenza Innovation
bgrillo@chenpr.com
781.672.3129
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