Following the collapse of electric carmaker CODA Automotive in May, the company is reemerging as an energy storage firm.
A consortium of investors led by global investment management firm Fortress Investment Group has acquired the core technology, engineering and energy storage assets of CODA Holdings, Inc., as well as its key contracts and partnerships, to form the foundation of a new company that will carry over the brand name CODA Energy.
The assets were acquired from CODA Holdings’ reorganization proceedings in a “Section 363” sale that closed on Friday. CODA Energy designs and builds scalable energy storage products that support a smarter, cleaner and more reliable grid. Ed Solar, who led the energy storage division within CODA Holdings since 2011, and Pete Nortman, who formerly led the core technology engineering team at CODA Holdings, will co-manage the company.
CODA’s energy storage system combines advanced batteries into modular towers or building blocks, know as The CODA Core, with battery and thermal management systems all managed through a power source controller. The systems are optimized for generation, distribution and behind-the-meter applications for commercial & industrial end users, and can be adapted for utility, community and residential applications, CODA says.
In San Diego, a community-scale CODA energy storage system is helping an apartment complex reduce peak electricity consumption and utilize the excess solar power it generates during the day at night. In San Francisco, two InterContinental hotels use CODA energy storage systems to reduce peak electricity consumption and associated demand charges.
According to Lux Research, the global energy storage market will grow nine-fold to $10.4 billion by 2017, CODA says. Navigant Research predicts the ancillary services market for energy storage will surpass $3.8 billion by 2023, according to CODA.
The total number of energy storage projects worldwide – including announced, funded, under construction, and operating facilities – reached 714 in the last quarter of 2012, according to a tracker report from Pike Research released in December.
Energy storage projects are increasing steadily, both in terms of the project pipeline and the number of projects deployed and operating. Two factors are influencing that expansion: first, demand for energy storage is increasing as utilities learn more about energy storage technologies and become less risk averse, and second, as the economic outlook brightens, companies are more willing to invest the capital frequently required for energy storage, according to Pike (now Navigant Research).
