The billion-dollar dream that vanished: GE's failed molten salt battery venture
In 2011, President Obama touted GE's advanced battery technology as a promising frontier. This video examines the rise and fall of the Durathon project, exploring how a high-stakes energy innovation ended in factory closures and significant losses.
During a 2011 visit to Schenectady, New York, President Barack Obama highlighted GE's molten salt stationary battery technology, known as Durathon, as a business with great promise. At the time, GE CEO Jeff Immeral believed the venture was poised to become a billion-dollar industry.
However, the project failed to meet these expectations. After investing nearly $200 million into the technology, GE closed its New York manufacturing facility in 2015. The collapse of the battery business resulted in the loss of nearly one hundred jobs.
Source: GE’s Molten Salt Battery Failure
