– Emera Technologies and Novonix Battery Technology Solutions (Novonix) are working together to develop battery pack systems that will support microgrids that will provide power directly to homes from solar panels, and could lead to exciting future opportunities across North America.
In the fall of 2020, Emera Technologies launched BlockEnergy, the first utility-owned community microgrid platform, and have partnered with Lennar homebuilders to implement the technology in a new residential community in Florida. For the past year, the Emera Technologies team has also been working with Novonix, a Halifax based battery technology company, to develop a battery pack including innovative designs, custom manufacturing, and control systems to support the direct current BlockEnergy microgrid.
“The BlockEnergy project is a great example of applying our technology to real life projects and developing systems with specifications not available currently in commercial products, and that have tangible downstream applications,” said Dr. Chris Burns, co-founder and CEO of Novonix.
“This project brings the opportunity to partner on not only the development but also manufacturing of new battery systems with significant market opportunities. The target market is not limited to the United States but will also include a focus on opportunities and customers here in Canada,” said Dr. Burns.
Novonix was born out of work from Dr. Jeff Dahn’s Research Group at Dalhousie University that focuses on lithium-ion battery research and currently works exclusively with Tesla. Dr. Dahn will join Novonix on July 1, 2021 as their Chief Scientific Advisor. On the arrangement between Emera Technologies and Novonix Dahn commented, “Partnerships like Novonix and Emera Technologies help take battery technology advancements to the real world, in this case powering individual residential homes.”
Emera Technologies and Novonix plan to field test the first demo units in 2021 which will help inform final decisions around system specifics and design.
“We’re really excited about this partnership and this project,” said Rob Bennett, President and CEO of Emera Technologies, “we’re developing something that doesn’t exist today, that will help provide people with cleaner, more reliable energy, and we’re able to capitalize on expertise at home in Nova Scotia to do that.”
ABOUT NOVONIX
Novonix was started in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2013 from work in Dr. Jeff Dahn’s group, with the goal of bringing state-of-the-art battery testing equipment from the research lab to market success. Over the past eight years, Novonix gained worldwide recognition, providing battery testing equipment and services to customers in more than 14 countries. Novonix has continually expanded, both in staff and in infrastructure and is located in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Novonix is a wholly owned subsidiary of Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX, OTCQX: NVNXF).
