The Lod-based ZOOZ company has been awarded a grant of up to $1 million as the winner of the 2022 New York-Israel Smart Energy Innovation Challenge.
ZOOZ, formerly known as Chakratec, was selected as the 2022 challenge winner through a competition for new utility-related technologies jointly organized with the Israel Smart Energy Association (ISEA) and the New York Power Authority (NYPA).
The grant is intended to fund projects between Israeli companies and New York State that develop innovative energy technology to help advance the state’s clean energy agenda.
ZOOZ was awarded the grant for a project that will demonstrate the integration of a local power grid with an EV charger using ZOOZ’s power booster, a flywheel-based, kinetic energy storage technology. The company specializes in energy storage and power boosting products aimed at enabling ultra-fast EV charging.
The technology was selected for its potential positive impact on the EV industry and for its expected long-term benefits to New Yorkers.
“New York’s collaboration with the State of Israel, a hub for innovative, clean energy technologies, will deliver forward-thinking solutions that will strengthen New York’s EV infrastructure,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in making the announcement.
“Congratulations to ZOOZ on this award, which will promote the use of Electric Vehicles, help improve air quality and ensure a better environment for New Yorkers.”
No tax money or state credit is used to fund the competition, which is supported through the sale of bonds and revenues earned largely from sales of electricity.
“NYPA’s collaboration with Israeli’s technology companies yields mutual benefits by introducing new solutions for commercial usage in large-scale electric utilities,” New York Power Authority-Israel Innovation Hub ead Doron Gover said.
“The cooperation finances and enables pilot installation of innovative solutions in order to achieve significant advances in grid reliability, storage, sustainability and faster affordable EV charging,” he added.
“We believe that wide deployment of ultra-fast chargers is key to supporting the transition to EVs and we are proud to play a key role in this revolution which is so important to the future of our planet,” ZOOZ Power CEO Boaz Weizer added.
“The collaboration between the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and ZOOZ is only the latest example of the deep and flourishing friendship between the people of Israel and the State of New York,” said Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ambassador Asaf Zamir.
“We are thankful for the collaboration with NYPA, our friends in Albany, and all our neighbors around the state, who are investing together with Israelis to create a brighter future.”
Hochul has set a goal for all new passenger cars and trucks sold in New York to be zero-emissions by 2035 and proposed all school buses reach the same 2035 goal as well. New York State has an interim goal of reaching 850,000 zero-emission vehicles by 2025.
New York State currently hosts more than 1,000 public fast chargers at more than 240 locations, ranging in speed from 25kW to 350kW with varying charging times. More than 600 are Tesla-only chargers.
ZOOZ’s proposed kinetic power booster would provide supplemental power to EV fast chargers to enable ultra-fast charging even in locations where the grid is power-constrained.
