ESS Inc. announced that former President and CEO of Intermolecular, David Lazovsky, has joined as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The appointment comes seven months after the addition of Michael Niggli, former President and COO of San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), to the ESS board.

Mr. Lazovsky is the founder of Intermolecular and served as the company's President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors from September 2004 to October 2014. As President and CEO, Lazovsky led all aspects of the business through its lifecycle from early stage start-up to a high-growth public company. Prior to founding Intermolecular, Lazovsky held several senior management positions at Applied Materials. From 1996 through August 2004, he held management positions in the Metal Deposition and Thin Films Product Business Group where he was responsible for managing more than $1 billion in Applied Materials' semiconductor manufacturing equipment business. Lazovsky holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Ohio University, and holds 45 issued U.S. patents. He also currently serves on the board of directors of POET Technologies, a provider of optoelectronics solutions for the data communications and optical sensors markets.

"We're pleased to welcome Dave to our board," said Craig Evans, ESS CEO. "His addition complements our existing team of leaders in power and clean energy generation serving on the ESS board. Dave shares our confidence in the cost effectiveness of the all-iron chemistry to support the low levelized cost of storage requirements of ESS' customers."

"ESS is leading the transition to more flexible, low-cost, long-duration energy storage solutions," commented Mr. Lazovsky. "Energy storage is a critical component in a future where renewable penetration grows and increasingly displaces fossil-fuel power generation. ESS has successfully developed and commercialized a differentiated Iron Flow Battery technology, and is poised to lead the industry in low cost energy storage. I am pleased to be a part of the ESS team."

The All-Iron Flow Battery (IFB) addresses the emerging utility market's need for long-life, low cost-per-kWh energy storage systems that can time shift bulk energy from wind and solar to enable much deeper penetration of renewables on electric grids worldwide. "As PV reaches grid parity in many markets, low-cost energy storage that buffers intermittencies will be a key enabler for the shift to renewable generation," stated Craig Evans, CEO of ESS.

The company recently announced the shipment of its battery to be deployed in a microgrid for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, ESS has systems destined for UC San Diego as well as a renewable energy facility in Lubbock, Texas where DNV-GL will perform third party validation on the IFB as it shifts wind power daily. 

ESS | www.essinc.com