Better grid-scale battery under development New batteries could reshape renewable energy storage on grid The key to successfully incorporating renewables onto the power grid is having a place to store it. Planar stacked sodium beta (planar Na-β) batteries may offer a simple and low-cost way to store renewable energy. Scientists from EaglePicher Technologies and the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have kicked off a three- year project to develop, build and test planar Na-β battery modules. While existing sodium- beta batteries are currently a promising technology, the batteries use thick tubular electrolytes that are unreliable and expensive. The radical new planar, stacked architectures can achieve better performance at lower operating temperatures, thereby offering better reliability. In addition, the battery’s inexpensive construction materials and low- cost manufacturing techniques could make it a more affordable opportunity for investors and manufacturers. The battery modules form basic building blocks that can be put together in a system capable of providing up to few megawatts of power, or enough electricity to power hundreds of households. The project also aims to establish the foundations for a viable planar Na-β battery manufacturing industry in the U.S. DOE's ARPA-E awarded the EaglePicher Technologies and PNNL team more than $7.2 million (plus $1.8 million matching fund from EPT) for this project in October The team kicked off the project in late January. Contacts Annie Haas Pacific Northwest National Laboratory or Dave Lucero EaglePicher Technologies, LLC or

About EaglePicher EaglePicher Technologies, LLC, is a leading producer of batteries and energetic devices for the defense, space and commercial industries, and provides the most experience and broadest capability in battery electrochemistry of any battery supplier in the United States. EaglePicher Technologies offers a wide range of battery technology including thermal, nickel hydrogen, lithium carbonmonofluoride, lithium thionyl chloride, lithium manganese dioxide, lithium sulfur dioxide, lithium ion, reserve lithium oxyhalide, custom battery assemblies and silver zinc batteries. It also provides other energy products and pyrotechnic devices for the defense industry, as well as advanced battery chargers and other power solutions for business, industrial and recreational applications. On January 29, 2010 OM Group, Inc. acquired EaglePicher Technologies, LLC the wholly owned subsidiary of EaglePicher Corporation. For more information, visit the company's Web site at About Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory where interdisciplinary teams advance science and technology and deliver solutions to America's most intractable problems in energy, national security and the environment. PNNL employs 4,650 staff, has a $954 million annual budget, and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in Follow PNNL on Facebook, Linked In and Twitter.