New York Power Authority to Collaborate with ZOOZ Power, Israel-Based Award Winner, to Advance Electric Vehicle Ultra-Fast Charging Technology

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the winner of the 2022 New York-Israel Smart Energy Innovation Challenge, a competitive award with a value of up to $1 million that enables New York State to partner with an Israeli company to develop an innovative energy technology to help advance the State’s bold clean energy agenda.

 Specializing in energy storage and power boosting products aimed at enabling ultra-fast EV charging, ZOOZ was awarded for a project to demonstrate the integration of a local power grid with an EV charger coupled with ZOOZ’s power booster, which is an innovative, flywheel-based, kinetic energy storage technology. The technology was selected for its potential positive impact on the EV industry and for expected long-term benefits for New Yorkers.  

“Through key strategic partnerships, New York is driving the advancement of cutting-edge clean energy technologies that will have a global impact in the fight against climate change,” Governor Hochul said. “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. 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.” 

The $1 million competition called for new energy innovators to apply for an award and encouraged New York’s continued collaboration with innovative Israeli energy technology firms on creative energy solutions. NYPA uses no tax money or state credit to fund the competition. NYPA finances its operations—including funding for this award—through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity.

Consul General of Israel in New York Ambassador Asaf Zamir said, “The collaboration between 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. With this year’s Smart Energy Challenge, NYPA signals loud and clear, not just in Israel but also to the world, that New Yorkers are committed to building cleaner, smarter, and more equitable infrastructure. Today, we are very proud of the ZOOZ team and the challenge winners. 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.” 

2022 Challenge Winner – Enabling Ultra-fast EV Charging in Power-constrained Grid Locations — 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 NYPA. 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. Storing electricity in the form of kinetic energy, the company’s groundbreaking flywheel technology was optimized and adapted to meet the challenging environment and requirements of EV charging infrastructure, providing a sustainable, safe, and robust power boosting solution. With its ability to maintain high-performance through unlimited charge/discharge cycles, ZOOZ’s solution provides high-longevity and minimal total cost of ownership.  

New York Power Authority Interim President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said, “NYPA has multiple successful partnerships with Israeli firms developing innovative, smart technologies that are helping New York achieve its ambitious climate goals. This latest technology developed through our collaboration with ZOOZ will enable New York to install more EV fast chargers at more locations while reducing grid impacts, making it possible for more New Yorkers to adopt cleaner methods of transportation.” 

As the winning submission, ZOOZ earns the opportunity to work with NYPA to support New York’s clean energy goals as well as NYPA’s strategic priority to help decarbonize the transportation sector. NYPA and ZOOZ will collaborate on a joint research and development project to deploy energy storage as power boosting technology that would expand viable locations for the installation of EV ultra-fast chargers—helping advance New York’s transition to sustainable methods of transportation.   

In early 2020, the Authority together with the ISEA issued the first NYPA-Israel Smart Energy Challenge to solicit start-up technologies from companies headquartered in Israel that support New York’s clean energy transition. The competition sought proposals from Israeli companies with expertise in energy efficiency and clean energy generation that wanted to work with New York’s public utility to scale up their technology in pilot demonstration projects to meet the specific needs of power utilities operations. Prisma Photonics, based in Tel-Aviv, won that competition and is currently working with NYPA on a real-time transmission line issue detection system that will help improve grid safety, security, and reliability. As part of that announcement, in December 2021, Governor Hochul announced this second Smart Energy Innovation Challenge to select another innovative company to help create significant advances in grid reliability, storage, sustainability and affordability, all of which benefit ratepayers, utilities and the environment.