Battery Innovation Center seeking faculty collaboration

June 7, 2012

The president of the new Battery Innovation Center will be on campus today (June 7) to promote collaborations between the nonprofit initiative and faculty interested in working on energy storage technologies.
 
President Charles LaSota will be speaking at the Purdue Energy Center as well as visiting areas with related research including the College of Technology Smart Grid and Battery Initiative and Labs, Chemical Engineering Battery Lab, Birck Nanotechnology Center and Purdue Center for Systems.

The Battery Innovation Center is a collaborative in-state initiative designed to incorporate leadership from universities, government agencies, and commercial enterprises to focus on the rapid development, testing and commercialization of safe, reliable and lightweight energy storage systems for defense and commercial customers.

BIC will involve a 40,000-square-foot multimillion-dollar facility at the WestGate@Crane Technology Park in Greene County. The site is adjacent to Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane (NSWC Crane), the Department of Defense center of excellence in battery development and power electronics.

Purdue provided input into the development of the center. Those involved include Vic Lechtenberg, special assistant to the president and director of the Center for Regional Development; Jim Caruthers, the Reilly Professor of Chemical Engineering; and Ron Steuterman, managing director of the Purdue Institute for Defense Innovation.

Purdue is now a member of BIC, and Suresh Garimella, associate vice president for engagement, serves as the University's representative on the BIC board of directors.

For more information about collaborations with BIC, contact Steuterman at 49-44437 or steuterm@purdue.edu.