By Sarah Marquart
The Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine, led by Binghamton University with support from Cornell and other prestigious partners, is setting the stage for a regional revolution in energy storage technology. With backing from the National Science Foundation (NSF), this initiative aims to bolster large-capacity battery manufacturing and drive advances necessary for use in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, with the potential to transform the economy of upstate New York.
A crucial part of this effort is Cornell’s focus on technology translation — guiding new discoveries from the lab to the market. At the helm of this core function for the new energy storage engine is Fernando Gómez-Baquero, director of the Runway and Spinouts Program at Cornell Tech. Gómez-Baquero’s expertise in moving research into real-world applications is central to achieving the Engine’s ambitious goals.
In this interview, Gómez-Baquero sheds light on the strategic importance of the initiative, its potential to reshape the regional economy, and how the Engine is equipping the next generation of innovators to tackle the energy challenges of the future.
Can you describe your specific role in the Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine initiative?
As Director of the Translation Pillar, my role is to accelerate the commercialization of energy storage technologies. The Engine’s goal is to help startups and companies by giving them SuperBoost grants and technology acceleration assistance, helping them understand their supply chain resiliency, giving them access to educational/mentoring programs, and connecting them to Venture Capital investment.
What does leading technology translation on behalf of the Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine entail?
Cornell Tech is a recognized leader in entrepreneurship education and spinout creation. We are sharing this expertise with a consortium of academic partners (Binghamton University, Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Syracuse University) and, through our guidance, work on regional economic development that will benefit Upstate New York.
What does “translational mindset” mean to you, and why is it important for this initiative?
[It] means that we purposefully accelerate technologies that we know have a high potential to resolve real problems and become products and services quickly integrated into the energy storage industry. Another way of thinking about it is ‘use-inspired,’ where we focus on advancing technologies and recognize an explicit use and application.
How does your experience with the Runway Startups program at Cornell Tech inform your approach to technology translation?
The program has successfully experimented with developing a set of tools, resources, and training to move scientific innovations into commercial practice. After building more than 115 companies, we understand the challenges and the failure points, and by recognizing them, we know how to overcome them. We will bring this skill and knowledge to translation at the Engine.
How do you and others leading the initiative plan to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world energy storage solutions?
The primary mechanism to bridge the gap will be through SuperBoost grants. These will be specific grants given to startups or companies where that grant can quickly accelerate their Technology Readiness Level (TRL) —a system used to assess a technology’s maturity — to above a seven. TRLs range from 1, the initial research and observation phase, to 9, representing a fully mature and operational technology. Grants will be provided for prototype development, customer validation, quality validation, and certification. These grants aim to reduce time to market by funding the use of hundreds of millions in capital equipment available in Upstate New York to help startups succeed.
How will Cornell’s technology translation efforts differ from other institutions’ approaches in this collaboration?
Cornell’s approach is very hands-on and laser-focused on eliminating the barriers that stop entrepreneurs from succeeding. We don’t believe money is enough; it takes a community to mentor, guide, strategize, ideate, and ultimately develop the best approach to get to a commercial application that solves a significant need. Our approach focuses less on bringing external expertise and [more on]empowering current innovators to pivot, grow their knowledge, and make decisions as quickly as possible.
Why is building a strong energy storage ecosystem in upstate New York essential?
Energy storage is, without a doubt, a critical driver of economic growth. Every one of us uses devices that rely on energy storage daily, but in the US we don’t produce the majority of that technology. The opposite is true: we depend highly on a Chinese supply chain for this critical technology need. Upstate New York has the right combination of scientific knowledge, engineering skills, and application industries to ensure we become the growth engine for that industry in the country.
What specific advancements in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage are you hoping to achieve? What current challenges will these address?
We want to focus on critical areas such as new materials for increased energy density, non-flammable and safe batteries, faster-charging batteries, improved battery manufacturing, and recycling and reuse. These areas address the need to adopt technologies and set the stage for a cleaner and more productive battery production capacity to be built in Upstate New York.
What are some of the biggest benefits and challenges of collaborating with multiple institutions in this engine?
The most significant benefit is the additional resources that are now shared. Binghamton University and Cornell have great R&D characterization equipment and resources. RIT has a fantastic battery prototyping and testing center, and Syracuse University is a leader in workforce development programs. This partnership helps startups and researchers access those resources faster. At the same time, we know that it is challenging to know all available resources, and sometimes work is duplicated; that’s why the Engine will deploy a team to assess each project and guide them through the best path to success. We will also collaborate with partners such as NY-BEST and LaunchNY which have been critical supporters of the battery industry in the state for over a decade.
Looking ahead five years, what does success look like for the initiative? What impact would you like to see both regionally and nationally?
The goal of the Engine is to create a significant impact in this industry fast. By the second year, we will have clear examples of technologies that we were able to accelerate from TRL3–4, where early-stage concepts and proofs of feasibility are developed, to TRL7–8, where the technology is nearly ready for deployment in its operational environment.
We will have a roadmap for any company that wants to be SuperBoosted, and have examples of critical places where we have cut the dependency on the Chinese energy storage industry — for instance, in the recycling and reuse of batteries. By year five, we know this Engine will be seen as the most important energy storage hub in the United States.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sarah Marquart is a freelance writer for Cornell Tech.
