Hy-Energy Honored for Innovative Exports

Hy-Energy Scientific Instruments of Newark, Calif. was presented with the U.S. Commerce Department’s Export Achievement award by Barry Friedman, Senior Commercial Officer from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. The award, presented at a ceremony in Oakland, recognizes U.S. companies that have benefited from the Department’s U.S. Commercial Service assistance to make their first export sale or open new markets.

“Hy-Energy Scientific is an excellent example of how California innovation and technology is working to help improve the quality of life by promoting growth in alternative energy research both at home and abroad,” said Friedman. “With more than 70 percent of the world’s purchasing power outside of the United States, more and more U.S. small businesses like Hy-Energy continue to sell globally, contributing to their bottom-line and the growth of our economy.”

Hy-Energy Scientific is a privately-held company that promotes the development of clean energy technologies through science-based problem solving and the design and manufacture of high performance test and measurement instruments. These products are used to advance renewable energies research for hydrogen powered-cars, batteries, and portable electronics by creating better and cleaner energy storage capabilities.

Since 2004, Hy-Energy has benefited from ongoing export counseling provided by the Oakland U.S. Export Assistance Center, helping the firm do business in Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, and Spain. Most recently, the Export Assistance Center helped the company enter the China market with a sale to a university. The Export Assistance Center worked with Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Standards to ensure compliance with U.S. export requirements, and coordinated with the Commercial Service in China to conduct due diligence on the buyer and import requirements. Hy-Energy also utilized CS business facilitation services to locate a reputable freight forwarder for shipment of its products. As a result of this portfolio of export services, Hy-Energy exported a gas absorption analyzer worth $150,000 to Sichuan University’s School of Material Science and Engineering, located in Chengdu.

“Without the U.S. Commercial Service, it would have been much harder for our company to expand internationally,” said Dr. Karl Gross, Ph.D., who founded the company in 2000. “Having this export assistance from the start gave me a lot reassurance, and put us in touch with all right people. I also found that in addition to saving valuable time and resources, having Commercial Service involvement in the partnering process brought added credibility to our firm in the eyes of our buyers. Overall, export sales have played a vital role in our company’s growth, enabling us to sustain local jobs at our facility.”

With its network of offices across the United States and in more than 80 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. For more information, visit www.export.gov or contact the Oakland U.S. Export Assistance Center at (510) 273-7350.