New Energy New York outlines battery-industry programs; Chemung County incubator highlighted

New Energy New York and local entrepreneurship partners briefed Chemung County leaders Wednesday on efforts to build a regional battery industry cluster, describing education and workforce programs, a supplier database and a battery prototyping center planned for Endicott.

The presentation, delivered by Emily Marino, deputy director of New Energy New York, and Carrie Bayett, the program's marketing and communications manager, covered the initiative's five pillars — innovation and technology, supply chain, workforce development, equity and justice, and community engagement — and highlighted partnerships with Binghamton University, the SUNY Research Foundation, SUNY Broome, RIT and local incubator IncubatorWorks. Ashley Madison, executive director of IncubatorWorks, and Leanne O'Brien, program director, described the Elmira Incubator's local programming and student entrepreneurship efforts.

New Energy New York is a federally funded regional initiative that has operated since 2020 and later received a TechHub designation from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and an NSF Engines award. Marino said the program runs about 26 programs serving K–12 students, college students, entrepreneurs, researchers and manufacturers. "We wanted to come to you today and talk to you a little bit about the New Energy New York initiative that's been running since 2020," Marino said.

Why it matters: Presenters said the initiative aims to retain talent, grow supply chains inside New York state and create local job pathways into battery- and clean-energy-related manufacturing. County officials and IncubatorWorks leaders framed those goals as part of broader economic-development efforts tied to local workforce capacity and site-readiness for manufacturers.

What presenters described

- Prototyping and testing center: Marino and Bayett described a planned battery prototyping, testing and certification center…