Why NAATBatt?
Overview
The National Alliance for Advanced Technology Batteries (“NAATBatt”) is a not-for-profit trade association devoted to promoting the development of large scale electrochemical energy storage in the United States. Electrochemical energy storage is the key to reducing American dependence on imported petroleum, to ensuring the security of our national electricity grid, and to integrating large quantities of variable, renewable energy onto the grid. Large scale energy storage is the future of American energy independence.
While battery powered grid-enabled motor vehicles (“GEV’s”) and grid level energy storage are technologically feasible today, neither has been widely adopted by industry or by consumers. The problem is cost. GEV’s cost more than comparable internal combustion driven vehicles because of the high cost of the large format advanced batteries that power GEV’s.
Likewise, large scale energy storage is not a significant component of the national electricity grid because it is simply cheaper for grid operators to manage variable electricity supply by purchasing additional electricity from carbon emitting peaking generators than by investing in energy storage. As a consequence of the high cost of large scale electrochemical energy storage, the United States continues to import about $400 billion of foreign petroleum each year, and imports are growing. More important, remaining foreign petroleum reserves are increasingly concentrated in fewer and less friendly hands. You don’t have to be sitting in the locomotive to see the train wreck coming.
If we can reduce domestic demand for petroleum by reducing the cost of electrochemical energy storage, we can move onto a different track. The good news is that there are steps we can take to reduce the high price of advanced batteries. NAATBatt concentrates on three: Increasing manufacturing efficiency, accelerating development of new advanced battery technologies, and developing new ownership structures for GEV batteries, which will take the battery cost burden off of GEV consumers and increase the residual value of advanced batteries.
NAATBatt’s mission is to promote solutions to the battery cost problem. NAATBatt’s educational and networking programs help make the battery manufacturing supply chain more efficient. NAATBatt is a vehicle through which companies in different industries can come together and share pre-competitive information, so that the batteries can be manufactured more efficiently, used more easily by consumers and made more suitable for residual use. NAATBatt works with the U.S. Department of Energy, the national laboratory system, and leading U.S. research universities to ensure that technology flows from research institutions to the private sector quickly, efficiently and in a predictable manner. NAATBatt advocates for government funding for advanced battery research and commercialization. We serve as the voice of the advanced battery industry in discussion how limited government support can best and most effectively be leveraged to grow the market for advanced energy storage in the United States for the benefit of the entire industry and for the ultimate benefit of the American consumer. Finally, NAATBatt works with battery makers, GEV manufacturers and electric utilities to develop ways to make advanced batteries practically and legally fungible, so as to relieve consumers from the burden of battery cost and encourage residual use of GEV batteries. 
Membership in NAATBatt
Success of the NAATBatt mission depends upon the support of its members. NAATBatt’s Bylaws provide for six classes of membership:
Corporate Members. Corporate members are for-profit corporations engaged in the manufacture of advanced battery cells, battery systems, back up power systems, battery components, advanced materials, and manufacturing equipment, as well as solutions providers for GEV’s and large scale energy storage systems. Although NAATBatt will focus primarily on developing the U.S. market for advanced batteries, there is no restriction on foreign companies becoming members of NAATBatt.
OEM Members. OEM members are manufacturers of GEV’s or companies that sell GEV’s to consumers. GEV’s include electric automobiles, PHEV’s, neighborhood electric vehicles, electric trucks, busses and service vehicles, and electric scooters and motorcycles. OEM members also include electronics retailers and other vendors of GEV’s to the public.
Utility Members. Utility members are electric utilities that are potential users of large scale electrochemical energy storage or which expect to be effected by the increased electrification of transportation infrastructure in the United States. Corporate members, OEM members and Utility members are collectively referred to as the “Primary Members” of NAATBatt. Primary Members are entitled to elect the majority of NAATBatt’s Board of Directors and representatives of Primary Members are eligible to serve as executive officers of NAATBatt.
Associate Members. Associate members are smaller, for-profit companies which are working on technologies or solutions relating to GEV’s or large scale electrochemical energy storage. Associate members are generally unaffiliated companies that have been in business less than six years.
Individual Members. Individual members are individuals who may not be involved in a for-profit venture involving advanced batteries, but who wish to advocate for and help develop large scale stored energy solutions in the United States and help wean our country off of foreign oil. (Please note that NAATBatt is a trade association, so individual membership dues may not be tax deductible).
Academic/Public Service Members. Academic/Public Service members are educational institutions, non-profit organizations, government entities and NGO’s that wish to support advanced batteries and large scale electrochemical energy storage in the United States. Please join! Become a Member
