Every once in a while, you come across an article that seems like one thing but is actually another thing entirely. The NPR story of how “The U.S. made a breakthrough battery discovery — then gave the technology to China“, is one such article.
Several people sent this to us for opinion and review; however, the background of the article reveals something quite different. Then again, perhaps that’s exactly why NPR wrote it.
[READ THE STORY HERE]
It is important to read the story as presented by NPR, because it is oddly written as if someone is trying to use the outlet to get out ahead of something else.
The issue surrounds a new product technology called a vanadium redox flow battery. Essentially the U.S. government funded scientists to develop an advanced battery that could store energy without degrading. After success, the technology was then sent to China for manufacturing. China then invested heavily in the product and used the technology to mass manufacture the battery for the global market. The United States is now behind in the product development and manufacture.
As the story is told in NPR, “the Chinese company didn’t steal this technology. It was given to them — by the U.S. Department of Energy. First in 2017, as part of a sublicense, and later, in 2021, as part of a license transfer.” Except that’s not what happened at all. There is some major ‘ass-covering’ in that false narrative.
The lead scientist working on the vanadium redox flow battery project was a man named Gary Yang. Mr. Yang was born in China and emigrated to the U.S. becoming a U.S. citizen. Yang worked with U.S. scientists to develop the technology and was funded by a multi-million research grant from the Dept of Energy.
After their initial success, according to NPR, “in 2012, Yang applied to the Department of Energy for a license to manufacture and sell the batteries.” The Dept of Energy license was granted, and Yang launched UniEnergy Technologies as the parent company to develop the commercial application of the product.