John Boland talks about the enthusiastic and interactive discussion at the workshop about what tools the participants need to develop for their companies and what tools are needed for energy storage from the outside.

Michael Nakhamkin CTO & Founder of ENERGY STORAGE & POWER talks about how energy storage nowadays is driven by renewable energy which is neither predictable nor controllable.

Geoff James from CSIRO ENERGY TECHNOLOGY talks about strategies that can be used by companies to improve ROI on energy storage technologies.

Here is Ali Nourai from American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utility companies in the USA, giving an exclusive interview during the EV Li-ion Battery Forum 2009. Hear him talk about the outlook for Li-ion batteries for grid energy storage and why he feels it is a solid bet.

Robert Schainker of ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE feels optimistic about the future of renewables in USA, with different utilities having set specific percentages of how much renewables they have to install by certain years.

Hear Dr Schainker commenting on Energy Storage and CAES.

On Wednesday, July 14th, Vice President Joe Biden and Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) Chair Christina Romer released CEA’s new fourth quarterly report on the economic and job creation impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The report finds that the loan guarantees, grants, and clean energy investments made under the Recovery Act — matched by billions of dollars in private investment – are successfully creating jobs today and growing clean energy industries of tomorrow. CAP’s Susan Lyon has the story.

Vice President Joe Biden credited the Recovery Act for stimulating jobs and economic growth far beyond what it would have been otherwise:

We knew if we didn’t act and we didn’t act boldly, the best estimates were telling us that we would lose another 4 to 5 million jobs immediate — in that year. Well, we did act, and I stand before you today to say to you that…the economic initiatives we took, they are working.

[Source & read more: Climate Progress]

Compact Power, a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Chem, is starting to look like the player to beat in the competition to supply lithium-ion cells and battery packs for electric vehicles, having bagged deals with General Motors, Eaton and Ford Motor.

Based in Troy, Mich., the company hosted President Obama this week at the groundbreaking of a new $300 million battery plant backed by the Department of Energy. What’s driving Compact Power’s momentum, and what will it take for competitors to turn the tide their way?

[Source & read more: earth2tech]