Battery Development at Eastman Business Park Key to Kodak’s Role in Consortium’s International Project

Group of industry innovators investigating battery manufacturing plant to help power Australian city.

Rochester, N.Y. (May 2, 2017) - Recently, Eastman Kodak Company joined a global consortium of energy storage industry leaders to support advancement of lithium-ion batteries. Last week, that consortium announced a memorandum of understanding with the Townsville City Council in Australia to investigate the viability of building a 15GWh battery manufacturing plant there. Through its work at Eastman Business Park, Kodak will provide coated anode and cathode electrodes and cell manufacturing.

“The goal of the consortium is to ignite innovation in the lithium-ion battery arena, and we aim to lead by example through the work done at Eastman Business Park,” President of Eastman Business Park and Corporate Real Estate Dolores Kruchten said. “With projects like this, our manufacturing expertise in energy storage is on display. Each success strengthens the industry; as it grows, so can we.”

Energy storage is growing at Eastman Business Park. This July, the Park will celebrate the grand opening of a new battery cell assembly facility that will add new capability to the existing Kodak Pilot Commercialization Center. The new facility will complement the existing electrode development and manufacturing capabilities to provide a full set of resources for energy storage inventors, entrepreneurs and commercial developers to advance their technology while mitigating financial risk.

“We’re putting ourselves in position to lead the way to efficiently develop and manufacture new battery technology at a time when everything from businesses to municipalities are craving new energy storage solutions,” said Kodak’s Dan Ocorr. “The work that will be done at the new Kodak Pilot Commercialization Center will not only result in innovative energy storage solutions, but also be a blueprint for manufacturing best practices.”

The consortium is led by Boston Energy and Innovation (BEI), C4V Incorporated (located in Binghamton, NY), C&D Assembly Incorporated (Groton, NY), and Magnis Resources Sydney.

Once up and running, the facility would produce either 250,000 car batteries per annum (up to 400kms range) or one million home battery units or support 300 microgrids to power small towns.

About Eastman Business Park

Eastman Business Park is a 1,200-acre R&D and manufacturing campus with over 16 million square feet of multi-scale manufacturing, distribution, lab and office space. There are currently almost 100 companies onsite employing over 6,000 people, many of them responsible for the development of our nation’s next generation technologies in the areas of Energy Storage, Chemical Manufacturing, Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing and Photonics. Additionally, the Park’s immense manufacturing infrastructure—including the private utilities and onsite water and wastewater management system—is a competitive advantage for its high-use tenants, especially in the Food and Agriculture industry. For more information, go to www.eastmanbusinesspark.com.

About Kodak 

Kodak is a technology company focused on imaging. We provide – directly and through partnerships with other innovative companies – hardware, software, consumables and services to customers in graphic arts, commercial print, publishing, packaging, electronic displays, entertainment and commercial films, and consumer products markets. With our world-class R&D capabilities, innovative solutions portfolio and highly trusted brand, Kodak is helping customers around the globe to sustainably grow their own businesses and enjoy their lives. For additional information on Kodak, visit us at kodak.com, follow us on Twitter @Kodak, or like us on Facebook at Kodak.

Kodak is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company.