I have been asked about the impact of the June 1, 2017 withdrawal from participating in the Paris Climate Accord by the United States. At its core, exiting from the Paris Accord neither eliminates the underlying climate change conditions that led to nearly 200 nations entering into this voluntary agreement nor stops the need for a full range of steps to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Dramatic improvements in the technology related to energy storage have the potential to shape two enormous industries—transportation and electric utilities.  These industries have already seen major changes globally in the past five years—for example, from over 2M pure electric vehicles on the road in 2016 and growing rapidly according to the Global EV Outlook 2017 from the International Energy Agency (IEA) to massive growth in the global use of wind and solar power leading to, for example, the US deploying 234 megawatt-hours of energy storage in Q1/2017 in the largest quarter ever according to GTM Research in conjunction with the Energy Storage Association.

In 2011, I gave a TED talk that highlighted an energy storage future where engineers would be able to use compact, safe and low-cost “battery building blocks” to create custom battery modules that would meet the needs for both electric drive and grid storage applications.

At Cadenza Innovation, we have developed a technical level of detail and intellectual property protection that means we have a true opportunity to both “do good” impacting climate change while “doing well” financially.

Specifically, Cadenza has developed a new proprietary way to package energy. We are able to place the battery cylinders more densely and put them in a ceramic insert with both ceramic insulation and a fireproof material. This insert is then placed in an aluminum container to get optimal cooling. This solution, which we will license, has let us eliminate lots of unnecessary components and gives us more energy per unit of volume. A simple likeness is a Harry Potter book that you can hold in one hand, simple on the outside, but containing 20 years of advanced battery expertise and best practices on the inside.

Because of energy storage technology improvements and price reductions, with Cadenza hopefully playing a major role, there will be an increased use and 24-hour availability of clean, renewable energy, all leading to a clear path to lower global GHG emissions.

Our Cadenza technology licensing platform has always been focused on global energy storage markets—including major players in the US, China, Japan, Australia and the EU.   The Paris Accord highlights for each country its specific goals for the reduction of GHGs.  Even in the United States, after the Paris Accord withdrawal, there are already over 1,400 US governors, mayors, corporate CEOs and non-governmental entities vowing to meet the Paris climate commitments.

The Cadenza solution creates an affordable, safe and compact solution to make energy storage a critical and necessary player in future GHG reductions on a global basis.

I, my team and our partners are committed to being a part of the solution.   Join us.