Syracuse University is at the center of a regional effort to develop the energy storage workforce of the future, serving as a core partner in the and spearheading the workforce development portion of its mission through administration of the Generating Regional Opportunities in Workforce (GROW) program.
“Syracuse University brings together research expertise, workforce development skills and community partnerships,” says Vice President for Research . “The Energy Storage Engine lets us put all of that to work for upstate New York by connecting the science happening in our labs to the jobs and training our region needs.”
The Energy Storage Engine was launched in January 2024 as one of 10 inaugural Regional Innovation Engines created by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Its aim: to make upstate New York a national hub for battery technology by bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs and workforce trainers. Led by Binghamton University, the initiative recently entered phase 2 with a $45 million NSF grant.
Crucial Role
, director of strategic partnerships in the , co-coordinated workforce development during the engine’s first phase. “The energy storage sector is going to generate thousands of jobs in upstate New York,” he says. “That’s why workforce development is so important—it’s the bridge between the research happening in our labs and the economic impact we’re trying to create in our communities.”
The GROW program was established in late 2024 with a $2 million subcontract from Binghamton University. Together with Rome, New York-based nonprofit , Syracuse University oversaw the competitive grant program, which seeded battery and energy storage workforce training at institutions and organizations across Central and Western New York and the Southern Tier. A diverse cohort received $1.1 million in GROW awards: YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County; SUNY Broome Community College; Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); Binghamton University; Alfred University; GreenForce Training Inc.; the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at RIT; and Syracuse University.
These institutions developed programs for a wide range of learners, from middle and high school pupils to college students to community members. Nearly 400 participants have benefited from GROW-funded programs—a number that will increase substantially in phase two.
“Two years ago, training for battery research and manufacturing was essentially fully concentrated in Binghamton at SUNY Broome,” Crampton says. “With funding from the Engine, training was expanded to form a network of curriculum and programs across upstate. Hundreds of people have been exposed to opportunities in battery technology, many of whom would have never before considered it as a career path.”
Breadth and Inclusion
SUNY Broome expanded a Power and Energy Management seminar series, hosted a residential STEM summer camp for middle and high school students, and trained career and technical education teachers across multiple BOCES districts. The YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County brought battery science to students in Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton, including facility tours and hands-on LEGO robotics activities at the middle school level.
NTID developed a battery technician training program specifically designed for the American Sign Language community, offering a one-day workshop and an 80-hour bootcamp. Forty individuals completed training, with several earning the Northeast New York Battery Technician Credential. GreenForce Training in Buffalo delivered six accelerated production associate courses to individuals facing barriers to employment—including single parents, refugees and returning citizens—achieving an 84 percent job placement rate.
At the higher education level, RIT developed an 18-hour Li-ion battery curriculum delivered as a three-day immersive workshop for Monroe Community College students. Binghamton University created a new Sustainable Energy Engineering track in its electrical engineering degree. Alfred University launched a credit-bearing course in machine learning prediction of battery lifetime, enrolling 33 students and hosting a summer session that included industry professionals from Raymond Corporation.
Syracuse University’s GROW-funded program brought clean energy and autonomous systems education to 28 high school students from the Syracuse City School District through a six-week summer workshop. All participants—approximately half of whom had no prior coding experience—completed the program, and 27 traveled to Boston for a national competition. A majority reported increased interest in pursuing engineering or computer science majors.
Looking Ahead
With the engine now entering phase two, the workforce development pillar is set to scale significantly. The initiative is targeting a hub-and-spoke model anchored by four regional coalitions—each led by a major research university—to coordinate enrollment growth, transfer agreements, experiential learning and employer engagement. Summer 2026 internship and undergraduate research cohorts are projected to double.
“The groundwork laid by the first GROW cohort has demonstrated that building a regional energy storage workforce is possible, and that it requires meeting learners where they are: in high school classrooms, community organizations and college labs across the region,” Crampton says.
