Researchers at MIT, led by Prof. Gerbrand Ceder, have improved the charge (and discharge) rate of lithium ion battery material by a factor of ~30.  The work is reported in Nature and at the MIT website. 

Lithium ion transport is apparently limited by diffusion of lithium ions on the surface of lithium ion phosphate particles to ‘tunnels’ that provide access into/out of the interior of the particles.  The MIT team coated the particles with about 5 nm of a highly conductive (for Li ions) film of phosphate glass, which allows the ions to get to the access tunnels faster.  I reckon that this phosphate glass ‘shunt’ should also serve to decrease the apparent series resistance of the lithium ion batteries at the device level.  As I recall, lithium ion batteries have (today) a nasty tendency to over heat when charged or dicharged rapidly (as in electric vehicles during accelleration or regenerative braking).  This new development is worth watching as it could enable ‘filling station’ recharge rates, and improve the safety and reliability of Li-ion batteries in hybrid and electric vehicles.  Li-ion batteries also have higher energy density than lead-acid batteries, although both are far from the energy density of liquid hydrocarbons.  Still, this might be a good step towards technology useful for store-gen grid components discussed here occasionally.

5nm thick phosphate glass coatings on lithium iron phosphate particles speed up charge/discharge rates by ~30x.

This coming Monday, February 16, SXSW Interactive is hosting a pre-party in Houston to bring together the emerging tech/Web 2.0/social media scene in our neck of the woods. the event will be from 7-9 pm at the House of Blues Foundation Room located at 1294 Caroline Street.

This is the first year that SXSWi is throwing a pre-party in Houston (they’ve always done SF, NY, Seattle, etc), which really validates the hard work we’ve all been doing to prop up the local tech community. You can RSVP to interpress<at>sxsw<dot>com but do so soon…they are limiting attendance at 300 people.

For those of you not from around these parts:

“The SXSW Interactive Festival offers five days of panels, Core Conversations, book readings and keynote discussions. Also look for the Film and Interactive Trade Show, the ScreenBurn Arcade, the all-new Accelerator Event plus an exciting lineup of evening activities. Attendees benefit from hands-on, how-to training as well as long-term, big-picture analysis in an atmosphere that charges creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. More to the point, coming to SXSW Interactive is a great way to recharge your creativity. Listen to some podcasts or watch videos from the 2008 event to get a better idea of what to expect.

“The 2009 SXSW Interactive Festival will take place Friday, March 13 through Tuesday, March 17. The ScreenBurn at SXSW Arcade will run from Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15, and the Film + Interactive Exhibition & Trade Show will open Saturday, March 14 and close Monday, March 16.

“Daytime panel programming (as well as the Trade Show & Exhibition) takes place at the Austin Convention Center located at 500 E. Cesar Chavez. For 2009 additional panel programming will also take place at the Austin Hilton Downtown, which is located right across the street from the Austin Convention Center at 500 East 4th Street. Evening events will occur at the Hilton and at various nightspots around the city.”

See you there!!!

Just a reminder – the Rice Alliance is holding the 8th annual Nanotechnology and Sustainability Venture Forum this Thursday, February 12, 2009.  Check out the agenda and list of speakers - looks like a great meeting – and always a good place to network.  Here’s a link to register; that page has a map with directions.  See you there!

Suzanne Tormollen of Atingo is a 13 year public relations veteran of the tech scene who recently relocated to Houston. She has worked with many venture-backed companies in the Austin area as well as companies such as Dell. Suzanne is a new contributor to Startup Houston.

I have been in the high-tech PR industry for almost 13 years focused on promoting venture-backed start-ups.  I experienced “the bubble” and saw companies slash marketing and PR budgets to cope with tightening budgets and slower sales.  While these measures cut costs in the near-term, these companies missed out on a tremendous marketing and communications opportunity.

While it’s important to be prudent about where you are spending your money, it is also important to seize this quiet market as a time to define, educate and lead.  Now, more than ever, you should be keeping your company front-and-center, communicating your competitive differentiation and setting the stage for your industry.

This notion of putting in place an aggressive PR and communications plan during a downturn is not new.  According to a March 2008 article from the Harvard Business Review:

“It is well documented that brands that increase (marketing) during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”

PR is often viewed as un-measurable and therefore an unneeded marketing activity. For those struggling with how to support a PR campaign in today’s down economy remember, PR can be very broad or very focused.  Keep it focused.  Market validation and industry awareness are essential and can be achieved with a small budget.

1. Market validation:  Finding the industry analysts who are researching and following the happenings in your market just takes a little searching.  Remember to stay lean.  Focus on just two or three.  You can make introductions, pitch your story and begin a working relationship.  Some analysts may charge you.  Choose the firm with the best industry relationships and be prepared to pay them.  You often may be able to secure some initial coverage during the “courting period” even before officially signing.  For the others, see if they’d be willing to provide a quote or a reference, you’d be surprised what they will do. It is a down economy!
2. Industry awareness:  Once you have the support of a few key analysts you can take your story to the media.  It isn’t necessary to target every reporter in all the markets you touch.  Just pick your top five.  Learn the publications they write for and what they are tasked with writing about such as new products, executive hires or trends.  Once you’ve been able to establish your company with the vertical market you can bring your story upstream to the business press.  Make sure you pitch useful and timely news or trends.  That’s their job.  To cover the news and industry happenings.

If you’re lucky to have budget for trade shows or conferences then you can leverage these events to meet with analysts and reporters at the show and those based in the cities where the shows are located – take advantage of travel schedules for your executives and don’t miss these opportunities.  While I usually hesitate to issue announcements at a major event, a down economy may be just the time while other companies are becoming quiet.

This may seem like a lot but it truly isn’t and it CAN be done on a small budget. Trust me.  I’m doing this and more for clients.

Remember:  Know your target audience, create a focused analyst and media relations plan and then execute, execute, execute.  Keep in mind, if you go quiet, the industry will think you are suffering as everyone else.  Don’t let that happen.  Stay front-and-center!

I am just now catching up on many things from 2008 and noticed that David Heller has decided to shut down his startup, Supplier View. You can read more about it from David himself at his blog. Once I can connect with him to learn more, I will let everyone know what’s up.

I hope that we see many new startups in 2009, but fear that we may see more cease than start. These are interesting times…