Whether it’s with phones, laptops or in cars, Americans use lithium-ion batteries every day. The Central New York Region may now become an epicenter of domestic battery innovation. 

“We’re officially launching the National Science Foundations Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine. Congratulations," said Harvey Stenger, president of Binghamton University.

Thursday marked a big moment for the future of New York and its high-tech goals. 

“Kick off the National Science Foundation Engines Program, which is going to be the center of this country's research on lithium batteries, how we can make them better, how we can make them cheaper, how we can make them last longer," he said.

Officials from Binghamton University, the National Science Foundation and Empire State Development celebrated the launch of the plant in the Southern Tier Thursday.

The Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine looks to establish a tech hub for battery safety testing, applications integration and workforce development. 

“What’s gonna happen inside those buildings are gonna be the future technologies, especially in battery areas," Stenger said.  

Earlier this year, the National Science Foundation designated the New Energy New York Storage Engine as a Regional Innovation Engine. The Storage Engine will receive up to $160 million in funding over 10 years to help the domestic battery industry grow. 

“It’s gonna mean a lot of jobs, a lot of investment in our area and really cutting-edge technologies like battery research, lithium-ion batteries, battery storage," said Broome County Executive Jason Garnar. 

According to market research company Grand View Research, the global lithium-ion battery market size was estimated at $54.5 billion in 2023. It projects the market average annual growth will be 20% from 2024 through 2030.

Thursday was a long time coming for the Southern Tier, but the work is far from over. 

“It's going to take a while," Stenger said. "The building that we're in today is absolutely empty. So we have a lot of work to do there. But we have some great people that are doing the design work right now, and we anticipate over the next 12 months, we will have an actual lithium-ion battery manufacturing pilot plant there in Johnson City.”