Binghamton University, NYSERDA select fellows for empowerST program

VESTAL, N.Y. — Binghamton University has selected two fellows for its inaugural cohort of the empowerST Energy Storage Fellowship program.

The school selected the fellows with the with support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), per its announcement.

Both Wentao Li, founder and CEO of LiBAMA, LLC, and Matt Mayer, co-founder, president and CTO of ExoCell Power, will be involved in the “first-of-its-kind” energy storage entrepreneurial-training program.

ExoCell Power, which develops and manufactures next-generation hydrogen fuel cells, is headquartered in Binghamton.

LiBAMA, LLC — an early-stage startup working to develop and commercialize next-generation lithium metal batteries — is headquartered in Cookeville, Tennessee.

The empowerST program is a collaboration between Per Stromhaug, associate VP for innovation and economic development at Binghamton University and M. Stanley Whittingham, a 2019 Nobel Laureate and a distinguished professor at the school. The program was made possible through funding provided by NYSERDA’s Accelerate Southern Tier Program Opportunity.

The two-year program will provide fellows with salary and up to $100,000 in research and development funding, along with access to the regional cleantech cluster for innovators seeking to bring energy-storage technologies to market.

The fellows, selected from 54 applicants from eight countries, will pursue their research, development, and technology-commercialization activities with technical support from Binghamton faculty and startup mentoring from the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships.

“This fellowship will provide robust support on multiple fronts. The program will help to lay a solid foundation for our business and will provide the necessary resources for us to thrive,” said Li, a battery electrode specialist seeking to commercialize next-generation advanced metal anode batteries.

Li’s company, LiBAMA, has the “ultimate goal” of creating rechargeable AMA batteries that will provide mobile power for smart phones, notebooks, tablets, electric vehicles, drones, and more, Binghamton said.

“empowerST is the first major funding for ExoCell Power and will provide the tools to move the company forward at a critical time,” said Mayer, whose company is developing and manufacturing lightweight hydrogen fuel cells as an innovative alternative for the portable power and energy market.

The company’s patented Thin Flexible Fuel Cell (TFFC) can conservatively extend flight durations of commercial small drones up to 4X relative to the current capabilities.