TAMPA, Fla. and BRISBANE, Australia, June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Emera Technologies Limited, a subsidiary of Emera Inc. (TSX:EMA), and NOVONIX Limited (NASDAQ: NVX, ASX: NVX, OTCQX: NVNXF) (“NOVONIX”), a leading battery materials and technology company in Halifax, announced the delivery of their first-of-its-kind, custom-designed microgrid battery prototype.

Emera Technologies and NOVONIX first announced their partnership to develop the innovative battery storage technology in Halifax early in 2021. The prototype was developed by NOVONIX to support Emera Technologies’ residential microgrid system, BlockEnergy™, which is operating in a residential pilot project south of Tampa, Florida.

“We’re looking forward to receiving this first battery and are excited about this next phase of growth at Emera Technologies as we equip the next generation of homeowners with full-home battery storage capabilities,” said Rob Bennett, President and CEO of Emera Technologies. “We are proud that such an advanced concept for a clean energy future was created and built in Nova Scotia.”

The BlockEnergy microgrid system connects homes in a shared energy network, enabling rooftop solar power to be seamlessly stored and dispersed to the entire community through smart distributed controls.

“We’re continually innovating and investing in technologies that deliver high-performance battery materials to support longer life batteries and advanced storage systems,” said Dr. Chris Burns, Co-Founder and CEO of NOVONIX. “Our work with Emera for their BlockEnergy residential microgrid opens the gateway to exciting new possibilities for a cleaner, more reliable power grid with renewables being produced, stored and consumed within local communities. It will change the landscape of how we produce and consume energy going forward.”

Working with research partner Sandia National Laboratory in the US, the system was proven at a demonstration project at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2020, has received UL 9540 certification, and is being deployed in pilots. This new battery will be applied in the full commercial system targeted for availability in 2023. Testing of the microgrid battery prototype is anticipated to be competed later this year.

This announcement has been authorized for release by NOVONIX Chairman, Admiral Robert J. Natter, USN Ret.

About Emera Technologies
Emera Technologies is a dedicated and nimble organization focused on developing new ways to deliver renewable energy to customers. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, the team engages experts, research organizations, and technology leaders to capitalize on the disruptive challenges and innovation opportunities in today’s energy industry. For more information on Emera Technologies, please visit https://blockenergy.com/. Emera Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with more than 2.5 million customers.

About Block Energy™
Developed by Emera Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Emera Inc., the BlockEnergy Smart Platform is the world’s first utility-focused, front-of-the-meter, distributed renewable energy platform for new build communities of all sizes. Owned, operated and maintained by the local utility, BlockEnergy is the first truly plug-and-play energy system. Comprised of a simple kit of parts, BlockEnergy is installed by local utilities as a capital asset to deliver the most advanced, secure, reliable power available. Scalable, storm-resilient and able to interoperate seamlessly with the local grid when needed, BlockEnergy puts rooftop solar, energy storage and smart distributed controls throughout new communities of all sizes. These homes are joined together in a network, creating self-sustaining BlockLoops, able to independently power homes without disruption.

About Emera Inc.
Emera Inc. is a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with approximately $34 billion in assets and 2021 revenues of more than $5.7 billion. The company primarily invests in regulated electricity generation and electricity and gas transmission and distribution with a strategic focus on transformation from high carbon to low carbon energy sources. Emera has investments in Canada, the United States and in three Caribbean countries. Emera’s common and preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade respectively under the symbol EMA, EMA.PR.A, EMA.PR.B, EMA.PR.C, EMA.PR.E, EMA.PR.F, EMA.PR.H, EMA.PR.J and EMA.PR.L. Depositary receipts representing common shares of Emera are listed on the Barbados Stock Exchange under the symbol EMABDR and on The Bahamas International Securities Exchange under the symbol EMAB. Additional information can be accessed at www.emera.com or at www.sedar.com.

About NOVONIX
NOVONIX is a leading battery technology company with operations in both Canada and the United States. NOVONIX provides advanced, high-performance materials, equipment, and services for the global lithium-ion battery industry with sales in 14 countries. We develop materials and technologies to support longer-life and lower-cost batteries that are powering us towards a cleaner energy future.

Our NOVONIX Battery Technology Solutions division, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, focuses on innovative battery research and development, along with providing advanced battery testing equipment and services on a global scale.

Our NOVONIX Anode Materials division, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, manufactures our synthetic graphite anode materials used to make lithium-ion batteries which power electric vehicles, personal electronics, medical devices, and energy storage units. To address the growing industry demand, we are working to increase the production capacity to 10,000 metric tons of synthetic graphite per annum (tpa) by 2023, with further targets of 40,000 tpa by 2025 and 150,000 tpa by 2030.

Media:

Bobbi Dillow-Walsh
Bobbi.Dillow-Walsh@emeratechnologies.com

Chantal Theoret
416-357-1747
Chantal.theoret@novonixgroup.com

Investor:

Stefan Norbom
ir@novonixgroup.com