Victory Lofts project wins state preservation honor

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Contractor, LeChase Construction Services, also recognized JOHNSON CITY — The project to renovate the former Endicott Johnson Victory Shoe Factory in Johnson City has earned some state recognition. It was among 11 projects honored as a part of the 2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards. It also resulted […]

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Contractor, LeChase Construction Services, also recognized

JOHNSON CITY — The project to renovate the former Endicott Johnson Victory Shoe Factory in Johnson City has earned some state recognition.

It was among 11 projects honored as a part of the 2024 New York State Historic Preservation Awards.

It also resulted in recognition for the Rochester–based contractor — LeChase Construction Services, LLC — that worked on the project.

Preservation honor

Now known as Victory Lofts, the project was recognized for Excellence in Historic Building Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Restoration, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said in an April 17 announcement.

Built between 1918 and 1921, the factory was one of the world’s largest manufacturers of shoes and, at its height, employed 2,000 workers who produced 22,000 shoes per day. The facility was vacant for more than 40 years.

Syracuse–based Paulus Development led the effort to renovate the iconic factory building into a complex with more than 150 market-rate apartments and commercial space. The company also used the state and federal historic rehabilitation tax-credit program in doing so.

“Historic preservation projects take an immense amount of time, resources, and dedication,” Hochul said in the announcement. “From Buffalo to New York City, the 11 projects we’re honoring this year all symbolize critical parts of our storied history in New York State. I applaud this year’s recipients for their efforts to invest in our state’s remarkable historic resources and preserve these stories for generations to come.”

Created in 1980, the New York State Historic Preservation Awards are presented by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to honor excellence in the protection and revitalization of historic and cultural resources.

Victory Lofts contractor

In a separate announcement, LeChase Construction Services said it was honored for its work on the restoration of the Endicott Johnson Victory Shoe Factory.

The firm on March 25 said it was one of two projects for which it was recognized with 2024 Construction Risk Partners Build America Awards from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America.

LeChase partnered with Paulus Development to transform the long-vacant factory into 156 upscale market-rate apartments, with amenities and space for future retail businesses. Syracuse–based VIP Structures served as the architect on the project, which held its ribbon cutting in late 2023.

The construction company was also recognized for its work on the Strong National Museum of Play expansion and parking-garage project in Rochester.

“At LeChase we take special pride in projects, like these, that enhance the communities where our people live and work,” Kyle Sayers, LeChase executive VP and COO, said in the firm’s announcement. “The Strong and Victory Lofts projects demonstrate that true partnership — between owners, contractors, designers and community stakeholders — can drive exceptional results. Congratulations to everyone who played a role in these award-winning efforts.”

The AGC annually presents the Build America Awards to honor the nation’s “most impressive” construction projects, LeChase said. AGC gave out the awards on March 21, during the AGC National Conference in San Diego, California.

“When I purchased the EJ Victory building, I knew the path to restoring it would not be quick or easy,” Matthew Paulus, founder and president of Paulus Development, said in the LeChase announcement. “Fortunately, LeChase was a partner up to the challenge. I’m pleased that together we were able to restore the building to where, as Victory Lofts, it is once again contributing in a positive way to the community.”

Expanded and modernized UHS Wilson gets ready to open

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only

JOHNSON CITY — After five long years of planning, including just over two years of construction, United Health Services (UHS) is expected to open its new six-story expansion and modernization at UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City sometime in June. The $175 million Wilson Main Tower project, which broke ground in April 2022, adds

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The $175 million Wilson Main Tower project, which broke ground in April 2022, adds 183,375 feet of new clinical space to the 280-bed hospital facility that brings the patient experience and privacy to the forefront, UHS President/CEO John M. Carrigg tells CNYBJ in a May 10 interview.

“Patients are active consumers of health care,” he says, and privacy is the expectation now. Along with patients expecting it, the solitude afforded by private rooms — instead of the once-common semi-private, shared rooms — also yields better clinical results including better healing, lower risk of spreading infection, and more care involvement by family and loved ones, he adds.

Through the project, UHS converted all its rooms to private rooms, so it keeps the same 280-bed capacity for inpatients, but serves those patients from private, larger rooms. UHS sees about 15,000 inpatients annually.

UHS will expand capacity in its new emergency and trauma department on the first floor. The new area will combine new space with the renovated former emergency department (ED) space to provide an ED and trauma center that is three times larger than its predecessor. It will offer 45 private ED treatment areas and four trauma treatment areas.

“That’s a pretty significant increase,” Carrigg notes. With more than 50,000 patients treated annually, the new ED is well-prepared to handle the influx.

Much of the design for the project took place during the pandemic, he says, and that heavily influenced the process. Along with privacy, the new rooms also make it much easier to isolate patients if needed. New air-exchange equipment helps keep the hospital’s air safe to breathe.

“There will be some germ or virus that we’ll have to deal with, and we are significantly more prepared for that now,” Carrigg says.

Other features of the new tower addition include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite, a surgical-support area, and a rooftop helipad. The new space will house various departments including neurosciences and neurosurgery, surgical, oncology, and cardiology.

Those departments will move to the new space in stages, with neurosciences and neurology set to move first, Carrigg says. “There’s an incredibly detailed plan to make that happen,” he says. Patients will move one at a time, with a team surrounding them, and he expects the department move will take four to five hours.

Other projects

UHS, which anchors one side of Johnson City’s downtown district, has also made other recent investments into the community.

On April 1, it opened a childcare center — a $6.5 million project — in a former Aldi grocery store building about a mile away from campus. UHS partnered with Bright Horizons to run the facility, which has 82 childcare slots. While 80 percent of those slots are reserved for UHS employees, the remaining 20 percent are open to the community at the facility, which is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“100 percent of those slots are filled,” Carrigg says, and have been since day one.

UHS also moved its retail pharmacy in March from the main campus to a former CVS location right across the street. It sells both over-the-counter products and prescription medications and is open 24 hours a day.

“We’re filling hundreds of prescriptions there every day,” Carrigg says. “We are just really pleased we can provide that service.”

Between the childcare center, the pharmacy, and its flagship Wilson location, UHS is truly invested in Johnson City and sees a lot of synergy with the village’s planned downtown revitalization projects, according to Carrigg.

“Everything that happens in terms of restaurants and stores and other businesses that are opening … is just a great thing for our employees,” he says. UHS employs just over 3,000 people at its Wilson campus.

Along with UHS Wilson, the health-care system also operates UHS Binghamton General Hospital, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, UHS Delaware Valley Hospital, UHS Senior Living at Chenango Memorial Hospital, UHS Home Care, UHS Senior Living at Ideal, and physician offices around Broome and surrounding counties.

Renovation project at Grippen Park in Endicott is underway

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Southern Tier, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

ENDICOTT — Work continues on the $4.3 million renovation project at Grippen Park at 607 S. Grippen Ave. in Endicott. The development involves a “comprehensive” renovation of the building at the park, according to Broome County’s March 15 announcement. The county indicated it anticipates the renovations will wrap up in the next six months. Upon

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ENDICOTT — Work continues on the $4.3 million renovation project at Grippen Park at 607 S. Grippen Ave. in Endicott.

The development involves a “comprehensive” renovation of the building at the park, according to Broome County’s March 15 announcement. The county indicated it anticipates the renovations will wrap up in the next six months.

Upon completion, the facility will include newly renovated restrooms, concessions, a new indoor track, and five new pickleball courts for the spring and summer seasons — along with side a new recreational ice rink for winter use.

Additional community amenities will include a new wiffle ball stadium, flag-football field, new basketball court, rebounding wall, and a new accessible playground. Crews will also redesign and pave the parking lot.

In addition, flood-resilience measures have been incorporated into the design of the park facility, prompted by the damage from the area flood of 2011. Crews will elevate any susceptible items above flood levels to mitigate potential damage.

“Parks provide environmental, aesthetic, and recreational benefits to local taxpayers. The result of completing the Grippen Park Renovation project will enhance and increase the number of active uses and improve the condition of the facilities at Grippen Park,” Brenda Gowe, Broome County’s director of parks, recreation & youth services, said in the announcement. “The renovation will also enhance real property values, create a more attractive community gathering space, and provide community services for all, but especially families and retirees. We are so excited to provide a vibrant, exciting, and welcoming facility for the residents of the surrounding neighborhood and the citizens of Broome County.”

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar, New York State Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D–Endwell), members of the Broome County Legislature, and other elected officials attended a March 15 groundbreaking ceremony to get the project started, per the Broome County announcement.

Lupardo has secured $500,000 in funding toward the renovation work, the county noted.

“It’s great to see the Grippen Park renovation getting underway. A lot of planning has gone into reimagining Grippen Park as a hub of year-round community activity, after years of decline,” Lupardo said. “The public will be very excited to learn about the indoor track, pickle ball courts, ice rink, basketball court and more; I know that I am. I’m happy to have supported the project with a [$500,000 New York] Assembly grant and would like to thank the County Executive and the Legislature for their hard work and dedication.”

The enhancements position Grippen Park as a “central hub for the community,” offering year-round programming, sports leagues, and expanding events such as the Broome Bands Together summer concert series and Movies-in-the-Park programming.

The county also envisions festivals, holiday celebrations, family fun days, and craft or hobby shows using the new and improved facilities.

A spokesperson for Broome County tells CNYBJ that the project will happen in three phases with different contractors and designers involved. The contractors include Sanz Construction and Andrew Mancini, and the designers include C&S Companies and CPL.

Extension project

In addition to the building upgrades and added amenities, Broome County has secured more than $2.6 million in grant funding from the New York State Department of State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) for the Grippen Park and Chugnut Trail extension project. This initiative aligns with ongoing efforts to enhance waterfront access and connectivity, with plans to expand public access along the Susquehanna River in the village of Endicott.

The LWRP grant will support the creation of a trail connection to Grippen Park along the county’s waterfront, as well as a link to the nearby Round Top Park. This project is made possible with funding provided by the New York State Department of State under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund.

Construction underway on Water Street parking garage

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only

BINGHAMTON — Construction has started on the Water Street parking garage in downtown Binghamton. The $25 million garage — located at the corner of Water and Henry streets and adjoining the Boscov’s department store — will include about 500 parking spots over five floors, the City of Binghamton said in a May 2 announcement. About

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Johnson City ready to move forward with DRI projects

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Southern Tier, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

JOHNSON CITY — More than a year after the state announced Johnson City would receive $10 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) funding, the village is ready to move forward with the projects it hopes will get a slice of that funding. “They’re chomping at the bit,” Johnson City Mayor Martin Meaney says of the

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“They’re chomping at the bit,” Johnson City Mayor Martin Meaney says of the people behind the projects.

The village hopes to transform its 200-acre downtown region into a walkable district that maintains the village’s heritage while becoming a hub for shops and other businesses. The plans also call for creating more public and open spaces and growing the village’s brand as a regional center of creativity, arts, entertainment, and culture.

Downtown Johnson City has already experienced growth in recent years. Binghamton University has opened new facilities, UHS Wilson Medical Center is wrapping up a $175 million transformation, and several apartment projects were completed.

“It used to be you could shoot a cannon down Main Street and not hit anything,” he says. But he was surprised on a recent Saturday to head downtown only to find all the parking spaces full.

Meaney wants to keep that momentum going. To help spur things along, the village recently resumed oversight of planning and zoning from the Town of Union. That enables the village to be more responsive to project requests and flexible to make things work, he says.

The DRI projects, once underway, will really ramp up the downtown transformation.

Ranging from façade work to the creation of housing units, the projects run the gamut, Meaney notes.

The Village of Johnson City requested $600,000 of the DRI funding to create a small project fund that would assist on projects totaling less than $100,000.

One of the largest projects at 333 Grand Avenue plans to bring 72 units of affordable and workforce housing to the village. Streetscaping will add pedestrian, accessible, and bike infrastructure to downtown streets.

“We’ve got an alley we want to convert into a gathering space,” Meaney says. The Willbrow gathering space project would spruce up the alley with new paving, plantings, lighting, and murals to make it a place where people patronizing nearby businesses can congregate.

Johnson City’s downtown is bracketed on the west by UHS and the east by Binghamton University, and is starting to fill up nicely in between, Meaney notes.

As more jobs come to the area, more people are coming to the area, making those housing projects necessary. The rest of the projects, which include work at a brewery, the creation of new restaurant spaces, and shops including a vintage store and art gallery, are what will bring people downtown, he says.

“It gives the people downtown something to stay downtown for,” says Meaney.

ChargeUp Battery Startup Accelerator’s four finalists get down to business

Education & Training, Manufacturing & Engineering, Small Business, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only, Technology

BINGHAMTON — The inaugural ChargeUp Battery Startup Accelerator at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator in Binghamton has named four finalists that will be busy at work through October. Organizers, who announced the finalists on April 10, are planning a ceremony to conclude the accelerator during what’s called Battery Week, Binghamton University tells CNYBJ in an

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BINGHAMTON — The inaugural ChargeUp Battery Startup Accelerator at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator in Binghamton has named four finalists that will be busy at work through October.

Organizers, who announced the finalists on April 10, are planning a ceremony to conclude the accelerator during what’s called Battery Week, Binghamton University tells CNYBJ in an email.

Binghamton University, the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, NextCorps, and New Energy New York (NENY) selected the finalists for the accelerator competition.

The initiative is supported by a $4.5 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to “bolster early-stage, deep-tech enterprises and foster place-based economic development,” according to an April 10 Binghamton University announcement.

The finalists are: Ateios Systems of Newberry, Indiana; Standard Potential of New York City; MITO Materials Solutions of Indianapolis, Indiana; and Fermi Energy of Blacksburg, Virginia.

The 2024 ChargeUp program reviewed more than 90 applications from around the world, with four companies selected for the inaugural cohort. They were selected through a “rigorous, competitive” review and pitching process, evaluated by a panel of “top” technical and business experts, per the Binghamton University announcement.

The finalist companies will each receive $25,000, mentorship from technical experts, investment opportunities, and access to facilities and resources. Following the pilot 2024 cohort, the program will scale to include between eight and 10 companies per year.

About ChargeUp

ChargeUp is described as “the nation’s first and only accelerator dedicated to supporting battery and energy storage startups.” It is the latest program launched under NENY to “propel domestic battery-industry innovation, while fostering economic growth in Upstate New York.”

NENY, led by Binghamton University, is building a “comprehensive ecosystem” in upstate New York to promote U.S. national security, supply-chain resiliency, and global competitiveness within the battery industry, “with a strong focus on technology innovation.”

To support its vision, NENY has secured an Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) award, an NSF (National Science Foundation) Regional Innovation Engines grant, and a federal tech-hub designation.

“ChargeUp is a pivotal element of the NENY ecosystem, epitomizing our vision as a federal Battery Tech Hub and an NSF Engine. It exemplifies how targeted support and strategic collaboration under the NENY umbrella can catalyze profound advancements in battery and energy storage technologies,” NENY Engine CEO Per Stromhaug said in the announcement. “Its launch is another step towards making the Southern Tier the epicenter for battery innovation.”

The program — hosted by the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator in Binghamton under the NENY initiative — will have participants involved in a hybrid curriculum focused on investor preparedness, manufacturing readiness, and industry integration, with regular on-location events, modules, and networking in Binghamton.

By fostering connections with regional stakeholders, including research universities, economic-development organizations, manufacturers, and potential clients, ChargeUp seeks to support the client startups in bringing their groundbreaking technologies to the market and establishing strong connections to — and operations in — the Southern Tier.

“I have worked across different innovation ecosystems globally and what sets this program apart is the intentional efforts that have been taken to get inputs from industry specific experts and the investment community in developing this program,” Bandhana Katoch, executive director of the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, said. “We are excited to launch this program to further support our unique innovation ecosystem, promoting a domestic supply chain for battery and energy storage.”

NextCorps involvement

Binghamton University and its Koffman Southern Tier Incubator have joined forces with Rochester’s NextCorps to launch the six-month accelerator providing key investor and manufacturing-readiness training to leading startups from across the nation.

Drawing on the proven success of NextCorps’ Luminate, renowned as the world’s largest accelerator for startups in optics, photonics, and imaging, ChargeUp is crafted “to emulate a model” in which more than 65 companies have already raised $650 million in funding.

The “strategic alignment with Luminate’s celebrated framework positions ChargeUp for success in the critical battery and energy storage industry,” per the announcement.

“We are continuously growing our NENY partner coalition for maximized regional and national impacts, and the collaboration with NextCorps, especially leveraging the expertise of the Luminate team, is a cornerstone of our strategy to nurture groundbreaking innovations in the battery sector,” Olga Petrova, director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships, Binghamton University, said.

About the finalists

Here is a description of the finalists for the ChargeUp Accelerator:

Ateios Systems

Developing innovative electrode- manufacturing techniques to improve and accelerate production of new battery technologies across a range of various markets and applications.

Fermi Energy

Developing new approaches for large-scale production of low-cost, sustainable cathodes for high-energy automobile batteries.

MITO Materials Solutions

Developing and manufacturing innovative functionalized graphene across a wide array of applications.

Standard Potential

Developing new cathode active materials for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries.

Menlo Micro draws closer to fab opening in Tompkins County

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Manufacturing & Engineering, Small Business, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only, Technology

LANSING — A California company is getting closer to opening its first U.S.–based fabrication facility near Ithaca, joining the state’s growing semiconductor industry. Menlo Microsystems, Inc. (Menlo Micro), which announced its New York plans in July 2023, is hard at work getting the former Kionix, Inc. facility ready to produce the company’s Ideal Switch electric

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LANSING — A California company is getting closer to opening its first U.S.–based fabrication facility near Ithaca, joining the state’s growing semiconductor industry.

Menlo Microsystems, Inc. (Menlo Micro), which announced its New York plans in July 2023, is hard at work getting the former Kionix, Inc. facility ready to produce the company’s Ideal Switch electric switch.

It was a process finding just the right location, says Lew Boore, Menlo’s head of government affairs and strategic marketing.

“We have a very simple process that involves two things — glass and gold,” he says. “Two things fabs don’t like.” The materials can be difficult to work with, Boore explains.

Company officials evaluated about 30 fabrication plants across the country before settling on the Kionix site at 36 Thornwood Drive in the town of Lansing in Tompkins County. While its technology was different, everything else about the “Goldilocks fab” was a perfect fit, right down to it being the ideal size to house what Menlo has dubbed its Ideal Fab.

Menlo Micro has invested about $26 million in the facility to date as it prepares to open later this year, Boore says. With 15 people on staff already, the company will invest a total of $50 million into the fab over the next several years and has committed to creating about 100 jobs there.

“We’ve got a very robust workforce-development program we’ve implemented,” Boore says, as the company plans ahead for filling those positions. “We’ve reached out far and wide in New York and many other places.”

The outreach has included numerous colleges such as Tompkins County Community College, Cornell University, and Rochester Institute of Technology — along with organizations such as CenterState CEO and the Vet S.T.E.P. (semiconductor training and experience program) — to find ways to work together to train the future workforce that Menlo Micro and other semiconductor businesses will need.

The company will have a variety of roles available and not all will require an advanced degree, Boore notes. “Where the rubber meets the road is technicians, and you don’t need a degree to be a technician.”

Creating new jobs for the region is exciting, as is bringing a technology that’s a “little out of the mainstream” to the industry, Chris Giovanniello, Menlo Micro co-founder and senior VP of sales and marketing, says.

“We’re really just in the beginning stages of deploying it,” he says of the company’s Ideal Switch.

People don’t think much about switches, he says, and he’s not talking about light switches. He’s talking about traditional mechanical relays and the newer semiconductor relays. These relay switches are in everything, Giovanniello notes, from the circuit panel in your house to your car’s ignition system.

Mechanical relays have been around since Thomas Edison and have drawbacks, he notes. They are big, they are slow, and they don’t last very long.

Semiconductor, or solid state, relays are newer, but also have challenges, according to Giovanniello. They don’t fully conduct electricity, so there is a lot of waste electricity, which generates heat that must be dissipated.

Menlo Micro’s solution to both of these switches is its Ideal Switch, a newer type of mechanical switch. “Our individual relay is the size of a human hair,” he says. The switch is small, fast, and doesn’t generate waste heat. Thousands of the Ideal Switch will fit on a single wafer.

“We’ve been slowly and steadily building up our credibility,” Giovanniello says. Menlo Micro currently offers seven unique products, with many being sold to applications for test and measurement equipment. The company’s products also have use in radiofrequency applications along with aerospace and defense.

“It’s exciting,” Giovanniello says of both the switch and the Ideal Fab. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s exciting.”

Headquartered in Irvine, California, Menlo Micro also operates a research and development office at the Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany.

Binghamton Hope homes provide hope to struggling residents

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Small Business, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only

JOHNSON CITY — For more than a year, the Binghamton Hope Foundation has helped make a difference in the lives of women in need by providing a free place for them to live while they recover from substance abuse or other issues. The foundation’s Women’s Hope Home, which opened a little over a year ago,

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The foundation’s Women’s Hope Home, which opened a little over a year ago, has 13 beds available to women to stay as long as they need, says Leigh Stevens, the foundation’s executive director.

“We don’t put a timeline or deadline on recovery,” she says. The residents come out of struggles including addiction, homelessness, sex trafficking, abuse, and other situations, she says. The home provides safe and stable housing so they can focus on recovery while their basic needs are met.

Knowing that they have a roof over their heads, food to eat, and that the utilities will stay on allows residents to turn their focus away from survival and start looking at all the other parts of themselves they abandoned during their difficulties, Stevens says.

Residents of the home must follow a schedule which includes a wake-up time and participate in running the home by preparing meals and keeping it clean. Some residents may leave during the day for various outpatient services. Within the home, educational program services are offered on topics such as recovery and healthy living.

Opportunities to work on church projects are offered, as well as work-experience opportunities. Residents of the home traveled to Kentucky this year to work for a nonprofit associated with the world-famous Kentucky Derby horse race.

What makes the house truly unique, Stevens says, is that each team member has some variety of lived experience, which allows them to really connect with the residents.

“It’s more than just a home,” she notes. Residents are treated like family, even being invited to holiday dinners and receiving gifts. “Let’s really love on you so you can learn to love yourself,” she adds.

Next up, the foundation will reopen its nearby men’s home in July after it completes renovations. Once open, that house will offer seven beds to men in need, following the same faith-based premise as the women’s house.

“It’s just the start of what we want to do,” Stevens says. Right now, the foundation is working on mastering the model with the hope of opening more homes in the future.

“We want to open more of a transitional home for our graduates,” she says. The home would serve people who have completed their program at the men’s or women’s house, but still need some support structure “until they’re ready to get out on their own 100 percent.”

Stevens says she hopes to begin that process next year.

Funding for the homes and all of the Binghamton Hope Foundation’s programs comes from a mix of local, state, and private grants; private donations; fundraising events, such as barbecues, pop-up shops, and concerts; and sponsorship opportunities. The foundation also has an ongoing wish list on Amazon that allows supporters to purchase and donate needed items.

The Hope House programs are completely voluntary, Stevens notes. “It’s more a matter of are you willing to give this a try.”

BAE working with Indiana company on transit project

Manufacturing & Engineering, Small Business, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only, Technology

Also shares expertise with the Binghamton community ENDICOTT — The BAE Systems location in Endicott is collaborating with an Indiana company on the integration and certification of a hybrid engine and drivetrain for the transit market. Besides that work and other projects

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Also shares expertise with the Binghamton community

ENDICOTT — The BAE Systems location in Endicott is collaborating with an Indiana company on the integration and certification of a hybrid engine and drivetrain for the transit market.

Besides that work and other projects the facility is focused on, an engineer with the Endicott location tells CNYBJ that BAE Systems also shares its expertise with organizations in the Binghamton area.

Headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of United Kingdom–based BAE Systems plc, a global defense, security, and aerospace company.

Project work

BAE Systems and Columbus, Indiana–based Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) say they’ll collaborate on the integration and certification of a B hybrid-compatible diesel engine and hybrid electric drivetrain for the transit market, targeted for launch in 2027.

The hybrid electric product will continue to provide transit agencies with a “proven and cost-effective technology that reduces fuel use and emissions,” per an April 26 announcement from BAE.

In this effort, BAE Systems will supply its electric-drive hardware to interface with the engine and form a full hybrid electric drivetrain, the firm said, as well as provide engineering support and system-integration expertise.

“Hybrid electric systems will remain an important technology for the bus market for years to come,” Rob Dykema, director of North American transit accounts for power and propulsion solutions at BAE Systems, said in the announcement. “BAE Systems and Cummins have enjoyed many years of successful collaboration delivering this proven capability to the market, and this is another step forward as we sustain a range of clean, efficient solutions in transit.”

BAE Systems and Cummins have worked together to develop hybrid electric products for buses since 1994. This newly expanded collaboration “underscores a shared commitment” to offering more emission-reducing options in transit, BAE said.

Hybrid electric buses facilitate workforce development for training on high-voltage systems and do not require investment in extensive charging infrastructure.

In addition, hybrid buses with BAE Systems’ electric-drive systems allow for increased zero-emission capable solutions. This includes proven engine start and stop and geofencing technology, allowing a hybrid bus to automatically switch to full electric-bus mode when entering designated green zones, the company said.

BAE Systems says it has more than 25 years of experience developing and integrating electric power and propulsion systems for buses, boats, and heavy-duty vehicles. The company has more than 16,000 propulsion systems in service on transit buses worldwide, including hybrid electric, battery electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell applications.

Its electric-propulsion technology is developed and serviced at its facilities in Endicott and in the United Kingdom.

Community involvement

Besides its project work for customers, BAE Systems is also no stranger to community involvement in the greater Binghamton area.

Matt Boecke, chief engineer for power systems for aircraft electrification at BAE Systems, says he’s “pretty heavily” involved in activities at Binghamton University regarding the region’s recent designation as a national tech hub for energy storage.

“Helping with capstone projects at Binghamton University,” he says. “Developing … curriculum, so if you look at the trends in the world, and Binghamton being at the center of it in energy storage and power systems … working on setting up curriculums.”

Boecke, who spoke with CNYBJ in a May 9 phone interview, has worked for BAE Systems for about 20 years.

Besides Binghamton University, he’s also provided assistance on similar projects at SUNY Broome Community College to help “develop a pipeline” that would help feed into the local job market and the business initiatives at BAE Systems and the clean and green initiatives happening globally.

“We take that [back] even further into high schools and middle schools,” Boecke says. “We bring high-school kids through [and] show them what we’re doing.”

He also helped set up the battery lab for high-school students at Chenango Forks High School, located north of Binghamton.

When asked if he’s seeing interest from students in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) field, Boecke says, “We are. We do see a fair amount of interest that ties into it.”

EMPEQ works to make energy audits faster to boost retrofits

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Small Business, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only, Technology

ITHACA — After years of conducting energy-efficiency audits — checking buildings for things like drafty windows and outdated heating and cooling equipment — the founders of EMPEQ felt there had to be a better way than the inefficient pen-and-paper method most auditors used to take notes. And if enough time wasn’t spent on taking notes

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And if enough time wasn’t spent on taking notes and photos on the scene, all that information then needed to be entered into a database to generate an energy model, says Herbert Dwyer, EMPEQ’s CEO.

“There was just a ridiculous amount of time wasted by us collecting all this data,” he says. “This has to change. There has to be a better way.”

About seven years ago, Dwyer, along with Derek LaClair, COO, and Ed Wilson, CSO, joined forces to create EMPEQ, which focuses on energy efficiency and equipment-management technology with instant equipment insights. The company, which operates from the REV: Ithaca Startup Works incubator space, uses technology and artificial intelligence to speed up the energy-audit process.

With EMPEQ, an auditor really doesn’t have to do much more than take pictures while on site with the company’s Fast Site Survey product. By the time the auditor is back in the office, the data is ready for modeling, Dwyer says.

Those models are the blueprints that tell building owners what is needed to improve the building’s energy efficiency, and they are important to help the United States reach its climate goals by the 2050 deadline, LaClair says. Actually, in order for everyone to meet that goal, building retrofits need to happen at a pace three times faster than the current one. That works out to about 7,100 buildings a day.

“Eighty-three percent of buildings are using equipment that is beyond its useful life,” he says. That means more than four out of every five buildings are using old, less efficient equipment.

With already thin operating margins, undertaking an energy audit and building retrofit can seem financially daunting, Dwyer concedes. But the bigger picture is that businesses are already spending that money.

“They’re overspending on their electric bill, their gas bill, their steam bill,” he says. While an audit and retrofit is an investment, it will result in lower utility costs. Additionally, the state has many programs with rebates and other incentives to defray some of those costs.

Starting with just an energy audit at least lets building owners know what equipment they have, and that information can help them leverage the programs that are available, Dwyer explains.

“This is not about just saving the planet and doing the right thing,” he says. “Financially, it makes sense.”

Currently, the U.S. Air Force is EMPEQ’s biggest customer, using the company’s technology to audit its bases.

“We are also partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy,” Dwyer says. The department is using EMPEQ’s technology to audit college campuses.

“We work with utilities as well,” Dwyer says, along with private multinational/multidivisional companies.

EMPEQ was recently included in the SET100 List of 2024, a recognition by the German Energy Agency that highlights the 100 most promising energy startups around the world. The accolade comes just as EMPEQ is getting ready to release Fast Site Survey 3.0, the latest version of its flagship product.

The company is also getting ready to add on more employees. With 14 currently, Dwyer says EMPEQ is looking for people to fill sales, marketing, development/coding, and project manager roles.

“Things are going really well,” Dwyer says. “We finally have a tailwind. We’re looking for the best and the brightest.”

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