Richardson Electronics, ComEd, trumpet company’s battery storage system plans
Richardson Electronics, state lawmakers and ComEd officials gathered Monday to celebrate the Kane County company’s plan to build the largest commercial battery energy storage facility on ComEd’s Illinois grid.
“Take it from somebody in the energy industry. This is a very big deal,” said Gil Quinones, ComEd’s chief executive officer and president.
The facility, which will have containers with battery energy storage systems, or BESSes, will be built at the rear of Richardson’s headquarters in La Fox. It is intended to serve as a model for potential customers. The facility would be capable of storing up to 5 megawatt-hours of power.
“We have learned that standing still is not an option,” said Edward Richardson, chief executive officer and president of Richardson Electronics. His father founded the company in 1947, selling military-surplus electronic supplies such as walkie-talkie batteries.
“We’re here because we believe battery energy storage will be claiming an increasingly important role in the future of energy infrastructure,” Richardson said. “The demand for power continues to grow. The ability to store energy, improve reliability and support a more resilient grid becomes increasingly important.”
Richardson said the company’s manufacturing experience, engineering expertise and customer relationships help as it grows its global power-management program, which focuses on “green” energy applications.
“We believe it has significant long-term potential,” he said.
In August 2025, Illinois officials announced the company would receive tax credits for the project through the state’s Re-imagining Energy and Vehicles Program.
According to the state, Richardson was investing $8.5 million in the project. The agreement with the state calls for Richardson to add 54 full-time employees at the La Fox site.
“The fact is, our energy future depends on having enough power to support growing communities and local economies. Battery storage helps make power available when and where it’s needed most. This is critical for grid stability,” Quinones said.
He said batteries will store energy when it is cheap and abundant, to be available when power is scarce and expensive. He said using batteries also “buys valuable time needed to make infrastructure investments needed to bring excess energy onto the grid.”
The company is still designing the project. The building size will depend on how many 44-ton battery energy storage systems it will contain, said Scott DuBois, the company’s director of business development.
Meanwhile, it is looking to lease space in which to build BESSes, he said.
Richardson Electronics sells engineered solutions, green energy products, power grid and microwave tubes and related consumables, power conversion and radio-frequency and microwave components, CT X-ray tubes, and customized display solutions.
ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com