iNEMI Workshop Will Focus on Role of Electronics Industry in Development of Alternative Energies

Herndon, VA — July 13, 2010 — The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) is sponsoring the Alternative Energy Workshop October 20-21, 2010, in San Jose, Calif.  This workshop will focus on the technology challenges and standardization gaps that are affecting deployment of alternative energies and identify issues that can best be solved by the electronics industry working in cooperation with the energy sector.

“Major investments are being made in green energy technologies and, while we’ve seen significant progress, there are still major cost, technology and infrastructure challenges to be addressed,” said Bill Bader, CEO of iNEMI.  “iNEMI’s focus is primarily in the ‘balance of plant,’ meaning those system elements surrounding the energy conversion core, and in standardization opportunities, such as assembly, testing, reliability evaluation and similar areas of commonality. These are the areas where we believe an integrated collaborative electronics industry can add the greatest value.”

Through this workshop, iNEMI plans to:

• Identify areas where the electronics industry can have the greatest impact on closing alternative energy technology gaps.
• Within those selected areas, identify standardization issues and technology needs best solved by consortial activities.
• Form action groups to propose and execute the required collaborative programs.

The two-day event, hosted by Cisco on their San Jose campus, will feature speakers representing diverse green energy technologies including wind, solar (PV, CPV, CSP, etc.), smart grid, energy storage/power conditioning and solid state lighting. Break-out working groups will discuss key issues and brainstorm ideas for addressing those issues.  Some of the confirmed speakers and their topics include:

• Wind power -- Ashis Bhattacharya, group vice president, Moog: blade control
• Energy storage/power conditioning -- Steve Rhoades, CEO, Satcon: alternative energy inverters
• Photovoltaics -- Jeff Doubrava, managing partner, Prismark Partners: PV segment forecast; Greg Steele, vice president of operations, Enphase Energy: microinverters for PV; Matthias Heinze, director of technology, TUV: reliability challenges of PV
• Smart grid -- Allen Hefner, Jr., NIST: smart grid standards
• Solid state lighting -- Jy Bhardwaj, vice president, technology and R&D, Philips Lumileds: solid state lighting technology challenges

Registration
Early bird registration (by September 20) is $150 for iNEMI members and $350 for non-members.  After September 20, registration fees are $200 for members and $400 for non-members. 

About iNEMI
The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative’s mission is to forecast and accelerate improvements in the electronics manufacturing industry for a sustainable future.  This industry-led consortium is made up of approximately 100 manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations and consortia, government agencies and universities.  iNEMI roadmaps the needs of the electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, establishes implementation projects to eliminate these gaps (both business and technical), and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies.  The consortium also works with government agencies, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives.  iNEMI is based in Herndon, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), with regional offices in Shanghai, China; Limerick, Ireland; and Tokyo, Japan.  For additional information about iNEMI, go to http://www.inemi.org.