January 31, 2011
Technion gets $5 million to develop a better battery
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The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has given the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology a $5 million grant to further develop a light, long-lasting and environmentally friendly battery for energy storage.
The grant, which will be paid out over three years, will be used to create The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Energy Storage Complex, the Haifa-based school’s American fundraising arm announced last Friday. Its ultimate goal is to help end the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.
“The Helmsley Trust is proud to be associated with the Technion in this very important project,” Sandor Frankel, a trustee of the Helmsley Trust, said in a release from the American Technion Society.
Two U.S. patents are pending for the Technion Si-air battery, a new type of silicon-air battery that was developed by Technion scientists.
The Energy Storage Complex will consist of three separate laboratories for conducting battery research.
The Helmsley Charitable Trust, established in 1999, has announced more than $410 million in grants to charitable organizations.
