News
Matthew Ganter

The Battery Prototyping Center at RIT and the Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Test and Commercialization Center have merged to become a comprehensive battery development enterprise in New York state.

RIT received $1.25 million in funding from the recent appropriations bill to expand its Battery Prototyping Center. The funding will be part of national directions to strengthen the battery ecosystem in the U.S. 

The Battery Prototyping Center at RIT was awarded nearly $2.2 million through the Empire State Development Grants program to expand its facility. Upgrades and expansion of the center will nearly double its current space, add new equipment, and increase training capacity in the areas of lithium-ion battery research, manufacturing, and development.

The Rochester Business Journal talks to Ryne Raffaelle, RIT vice president for research and associate provost, about expanding RIT's Battery Prototyping Center. (This content requires a subscription to view.)

RIT is part of a major national initiative that secured more than $63.7 million to establish upstate New York as a national hub for battery research and manufacturing. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer announced that Binghamton University’s New Energy New York Proposal secured substantial funding for the new hub, Battery-NY, which will include partners such as RIT’s Battery Prototyping Center and New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology.

The Battery Prototyping Center at RIT is part of Binghamton University’s New Energy NY Project that received Phase I funding of the American Rescue Plan’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge.

Since opening six years ago, RIT’s Battery Prototyping Center has nearly doubled its research and development projects with battery manufacturers from Boston to Silicon Valley. More industries are exploring designs for commercial quality lithium-ion batteries and seeking experts at the center to provide research about the development of different styles of batteries.