http://www.ForesightST.com () —
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored Energy Storage Supply Chain Project Portal (EESCP) has now gone "live," providing the nation's first marketplace exclusively for intellectual property and R&D related to advanced energy storage for hybrid/electric automobiles and light trucks. The free marketplace at http://batteries.foresightst.com (http://batteries.foresightst.com) allows universities, laboratories, and companies to enter technology available for licensing or cooperative R&D programs. Once entered, email alerts concerning the new technology opportunities go out to nearly 100 U.S. battery and ultracapacitor manufacturers and suppliers of components for batteries and ultracapacitors that have already registered at the site. After a delay to allow U.S. firms registered on the site time to contact the licensors, the information can be searched by anyone. This policy provides technology holders opportunities for forming R&D partnerships as well as licensing.
To facilitate more rapid deal-making, the site provides detailed performance goals and risk reduction objectives for a wide range of battery chemistries and ultracapacitors based on DOE and industry technology roadmaps. Goals and objectives for components (electrodes, membranes, electrolytes, etc.) are also provided so those with technology developed for other applications can determine if they might find market opportunities in advanced energy storage devices for transportation. Profiles of firms that might be interested in acquiring technology are provided. For lithium-ion battery technology, the site goes further and catalogues global patents by company (as well as country and region) so licensors can review the patent portfolios of major potential licensees to better assess fit.
A variety of other functionality is on the site, such as: a jobs board, where industry, universities, and labs are posting employment and internship opportunities; an R&D funding opportunities library; regional overviews of government policies and incentives for transportation advanced energy storage systems.
The site has been developed by Foresight Science & Technology Incorporated, who is solely responsible for its content and format. Headquartered in Providence, RI, Foresight is a leading firm globally in technology and market analysis, technology marketing and commercialization, and high tech economic development. The company conducts over 800 projects annually and has franchises in Canada, South America, and Europe in addition to its U.S. operations. For more information please contact Krysten Oates, EESCP Deputy Project Director, at 401.273.4844, Ext. 14 or via email at Krysten.OatesatForesightST.com.
