Eos Energy Storage (Eos), makers of the safe, ultra-low-cost Znyth battery, announced the addition of two energy industry leaders to the company’s executive team. Jeff Wiener, former Director of Global Sales – Energy Storage at GE, joins as the company’s Senior VP of Global Sales, and Chris Gerlach, former VP of Finance at Solar Reserve, joins as the company as Chief Financial Officer.
The experience each brings from leadership roles at international energy companies adds momentum to Eos’ global expansion and commercialization of its utility-scale energy storage technology.
“We’re incredibly excited to add these industry veterans to the team,” says Jim Hughes, Eos Chairman of the Board and former First Solar CEO. “Their combined experience strengthens capabilities around product deployment, bankability and financing, and will reinforce Eos’ position as the go-to supplier for safe, cost-effective energy storage.”
Eos delivers reliable and affordable electricity for utilities and their customers. The Eos Aurora is one of the lowest-cost and highest-performance energy storage system available that is designed to optimize grid infrastructure.
As Senior VP of Global Sales, Wiener will leverage his customer and industry experience to build and scale Eos’ brand globally, finding new opportunities and applications for the Eos Aurora battery.
Wiener spent 36 years in GE’s power segment, playing roles in wind, thermal, and hydro services, and most recently directed sales for the company’s energy storage division. Under Wiener’s sales leadership at GE, the company deployed more than 55 MW of capacity in 2016 alone, one of the leading market shares in the industry.
“I watched Eos for a number of years as they brought the Aurora product to market, constantly meeting key business milestones: It is now ready to go mainstream,” says Wiener. “In addition to its industry leading cost position, I believe the Eos Aurora has significant advantages over other technologies in terms of full depth of discharge operation, modular design, installation simplicity and system safety.”
He added: “With industry leaders like Jim Hughes and CEO Michael Oster, I have great trust and belief in the leadership team, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Chris Gerlach possesses a diverse background in finance and banking in the renewable energy sector as well as in the oil and gas, conventional power and telecommunications industries. In his previous role as SolarReserve’s VP of Finance and Global Head of Structured Finance, Gerlach was instrumental in financing the first commercial-scale power tower with storage which entered into commercial operation in late 2015.
The project involved 1,100 MWh of storage capacity, a figure greater than all commercially-deployed battery storage in existence at the time.
“I was drawn to the versatility of Eos’ revolutionary battery product, which can be brought to bear on a vast array of applications, from peak shaving and reliability-enhancing backup power to renewables integration and microgrids,” says Gerlach. “The cost effectiveness of Eos’ proprietary technology creates an enormous opportunity to disrupt the market and lead lithium ion from a price, safety and longevity perspective. With commercial deployments now going into the field, Eos is setting a new standard in the industry.”
Eos is preparing for the global expansion of its safe, robust and cost-effective grid-scale energy storage solutions. The company’s core product—the Eos Aurora 1000│4000—is a 1-MW|4-MWh DC battery system employing Eos’ aqueous, zinc-based Znyth technology.
Eos recently announced the company’s first South American deployment of its grid-scale Aurora system as part of a 5-MW hybrid solar and wind demonstration project developed by ENGIE in Brazil.
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