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W A T E A E N E R G Y T I F F RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES Board Memorandum PUBLIC U T I L I T I E 5 BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DATE: November 16, 2012 ITEM NO: G SUBJECT: THE ENERGY INNOVATIONS GRANT PROGRAM CONTRACT BETWEEN RIVERSIDE PUBLIC UTILITIES AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE ISSUE: That the Board of Public Utilities consider approving a non-funded extension to the Energy Innovations Grant (EIG) Program contract between Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) and the University of California, Riverside (UCR) for their project on "Miniaturized, Efficient and Low-Cost Energy Storage Devices". RECOMMENDATION: That the Board of Public Utilities recommend that the City Council approve a non-funded extension to the Energy Innovations Grant Program contract between Riverside Public Utilities and the University of California, Riverside. BACKGROUND: The EIG Program is an RPU Public Benefits Program which was developed for the funding of research, development, and demonstration programs for the public interest to advance science or technology in electric related projects in the institutions of higher education within the City of Riverside. Participation in the EIG Program is restricted to public or private post-secondary institutions whose primary activities fall within the City limits. The grant funds must comply with the relevant portions of California Public Utilities Code (PUC) Section 385 related to the use of Public Benefits Funds. The UCR was awarded grant funding on August 9, 2011, for its proposal submitted to fabricate Miniaturized, Efficient and Low-Cost Energy Storage Devices, such as super-capacitors and batteries, utilizing a novel 3-dimensional (3-D) carbon based film that had been developed in their laboratory. Their research is expected to show that such 3-D engineered carbon networks can provide fast charging and discharging rates that can sustain millions of cycles. In addition, the total surface area of these electrodes can be tuned with a pore, sized to fit the size of ions of the electrolyte with angstrom accuracy. This will provide flexible, printable and wearable super-capacitors that are likely to be integrated into smart clothing, sensors, wearable electronics and drug delivery systems. Additionally, the devices can provide sufficient volumetric energy density for nomad electronics, wireless sensor networks, biomedical implants, active radicfrequency identification (RFID) tags and embedded microsensors. The UCR has been diligently working on the grant project, making significant progress over the past year as represented in the attached Annual Report (Attachment 1). The Agreement expired on August 15, 2012, and with remaining funds of $1,867.65 to spend; UCR requested a non-funded extension through September 36, 2012, to allow the research team to make refinements to the project and complete documentation and reporting of their results. The UCR research team has completed their expenditures and this First Amendment will finalize the financial reporting requirements. It has taken several months to work with the Regents at the University of California to complete the necessary paperwork to bring this item to the Board for approval.