FREMONT, Calif., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EnerVenue, the first to bring metal-hydrogen batteries to the clean energy revolution, today announced that Frank Blohm has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer. Bringing executive leadership experience across both the energy storage and high-tech industries, Blohm will oversee the full lifecycle of EnerVenue’s operations – including all facets of battery manufacturing, service, supply chain, and support. This includes scaling EnerVenue’s pilot manufacturing line, which is expected to reach 10MWh/year by the end of this year. He will also be leading gigawatt-scale manufacturing partnerships in the United States and Asia.
EnerVenue, which launched in 2020, builds ultra-durable, ultra-flexible energy storage for the clean energy revolution. The unique solution that EnerVenue is advancing is based on battery storage technology previously only available for aerospace applications, including in the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope. EnerVenue has been able to capture the significant performance and durability gains that metal-hydrogen batteries have achieved in outer space, and make them available to terrestrial, grid-scale use cases at long-term operational costs that beat out equivalent lithium-ion implementations.
Blohm joins EnerVenue from Infinera, where he served as Vice President of Global Sourcing and Supplier Management for the billion-dollar optical networking provider. As Chief Operating Officer, Blohm will be responsible for ensuring EnerVenue’s energy storage solution achieves its competitive cost goals as the VC-backed company accelerates development of its grid-scale technology and global partnerships throughout 2021.
“EnerVenue is a gamechanger in the Cleantech revolution – this is battery technology that offers the market a truly differentiated solution for grid-scale energy storage,” said Blohm. “The company is already well ahead of schedule, both in developing its advantageous alternative to lithium-ion and in galvanizing industry demand that has already led to major customer order commitments. I’m thrilled to be a part of EnerVenue as we shape the future of the energy storage market.”
“We’re excited to welcome Frank to EnerVenue,” said Jorg Heinemann, CEO, EnerVenue. “The well-rounded and extensive leadership expertise and history of success Frank brings to EnerVenue make him the perfect fit to strategically scale our operations and help steer our aggressive growth going forward.”
The EnerVenue metal-hydrogen batteries are developed for large-scale renewable and storage applications and designed to be:
- Durable: Operates in -40° to 140°F ambient temperatures; 30+ year lifespan; 30,000+ cycles without degradation; excellent overcharge, overdischarge, and deep-cycle capabilities.
- Safe: No fire or thermal runaway risk; no toxic materials; easy to recycle.
- Flexible: Broad charge/discharge range of C/5+ to 5C; future-proof with no limitations on use cases; scalable form factor for grid-scale implementations
- Maintenance-free: No moving parts; 30+ year lifespan with no routine maintenance or augmentation.
- Affordable: Low-cost materials; CAPEX that beats lithium-ion learning curves; no ongoing maintenance costs.
- Proven: Nickel-hydrogen batteries have completed more than 200 million cell-hours in orbital spacecraft and more than 100,000 charge/discharge cycles.
About EnerVenue
EnerVenue builds simple, safe, maintenance-free energy storage for the clean energy revolution – based on technology proven over decades in extreme conditions, now scaled for large renewable energy integration applications. The first to bring aerospace-proven metal-hydrogen battery technology into the clean energy revolution, EnerVenue provides an affordable alternative to lithium-ion batteries with capabilities well-suited to harsh-desert, remote project sites and to customers desiring ‘install and forget’ energy storage solutions. The company is headquartered in Fremont, California.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/52bda8df-394c-4295-b469-22f162d09964