The Binghamton University Forum, an organization working to connect community leaders with the University, held a talk on Wednesday discussing the proposed building of a new battery manufacturing facility in Johnson City.

Held in Downtown Binghamton, the talk, titled “Charging Ahead: Building a Battery Development and Prototyping Facility,” featured Paul Malliband, the executive director of Battery-NY — a “first-of-its-kind research and development prototyping center” that will uplift the sustainable battery industry in the Southern Tier. The funding for Battery-NY was announced in 2022 through grants from the state and federal government, receiving $63.7 million from the federal Economic Development Administration as part of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. It was founded in association with New Energy New York, a larger initiative dedicated to creating a “national hub for battery innovation and manufacturing” and boosting the Southern Tier’s economy.

Battery-NY is headed by Malliband, Per Stromhaug, the University’s associate vice president for innovation and economic development and M. Stanley Whittingham, a 2019 Nobel Prize laureate and a distinguished professor in chemistry. The new facility will provide battery manufacturing and testing for various companies and clients.

“What [customers] were interested in was bringing their materials in, us making the cell with the electrode, forming it, bringing it to life and then cycling it in those chambers … where you can control the temperature, you can control the humidity, you can control the charging rates of the battery and the discharge rates,” Malliband said. “That allows us to simulate the environment that the battery will be in, in reality.”

The manufacturing center will assume a unique role in the United States, as most facilities are not equipped to handle the entire process of battery manufacturing and testing. The Battery-NY facility plans to redevelop relationships with suppliers to create equipment capable of covering a wide range of different formats.

Malliband, who served as the chief engineer of Battery Scale-Up at the Warwick Manufacturing Group’s Energy Innovation Centre at the University of Warwick, arrived at BU six months ago to pursue this new facility’s development. During the talk, he emphasized environmental sustainability and future-proofing — which are key considerations for Battery-NY. The new facility will also cater to specific customer requirements and focus on developing American capabilities in clean energy.

The facility will be heavily involved with the University. Malliband discussed the importance of building a workforce for the facility, which he hopes will include local students and graduates who have earned degrees in chemistry and engineering. He plans on creating apprenticeship and internship opportunities within the facility.

“You’ve got the technicians operating the equipment, you’ve got the engineers that know how to make batteries, the electrochemists, you’ve got all of the people in one location,” Malliband said. “Hopefully, it will be a location that people will want to come to, to work and get expertise.”

The facility is set to be fully operational by 2026.

“We are ready to have programs up and running quickly, with the Endicott pilot manufacturing facility open in a year or two,” Stromhaug said in a SUNY press release. “The program will be a magnet for the region and upstate New York, leading to high-paying jobs in development and manufacturing. It’s going to make an impact nationally.”