EnerDel Achieves USABC Phase I Targets with Li-Ion Battery
02 January 2007
EnerDel, the lithium-ion battery company of Ener1, has successfully achieved all United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) Phase I targets such as power, volume and cold cranking with only half the weight. EnerDel is one of four companies with a li-ion battery project with USABC—the others are the Johnson Controls-Saft joint venture, CPI (the US subsidiary of LG Chemical), and A123Systems.
EnerDel made its initial delivery of sample battery cells under the Phase I earlier in December. EnerDel expects to deliver the next set of samples to the USABC during the next few months, as part of its continuing effort under its agreement with USABC.
This is compelling data which promises to bring significant benefit to our customers in terms of cost, safety, longevity and design flexibility. We have installed a production line at our facility capable of producing these electrodes for 5000 Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) batteries per month. In parallel, we are working at NanoEner to develop new generation of electrodes capable of delivering high rate of discharge while reducing weight. We are well on our way to secure customer validation in 2007.
—Peter Novak, CEO and Charles Gassenheimer, Vice Chairman
USABC is a part of the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR), an organization founded by DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors that works with the Department of Energy (DOE) on the cooperative development of advanced automotive technologies.
Earlier in December, EnerDel announced that it had worked with PrioVista Laboratories, Inc. to complete the installation of new furnace equipment that it will use to develop active battery electrode materials in-house. The high capacity furnace, which is located in EnerDel’s Indianapolis facility, can be used to make Lithium Titanate, Lithium Manganese, Lithium Nickel Oxide and other materials.
Although EnerDel will also work with outside material companies to support mass-production, access to the new furnace equipment will enhance EnerDel’s internal materials development capability and help EnerDel to accelerate its product development. The furnace was acquired from ITOCHU Corporation, a shareholder of both Ener1 and PrioVista.
Ener1, Inc. is an alternative energy technology company. The company’s interests include: 80.5% of EnerDel, a lithium battery company in which Delphi Corp. owns 19.5%; 41% of Enerstruct, a Japanese lithium battery technology company in which Ener1’s strategic investor ITOCHU owns 51%; wholly owned subsidiary EnerFuel, a fuel cell products and testing services company, and wholly owned subsidiary NanoEner, which develops nanotechnology-based materials and manufacturing processes for batteries and other applications.
EnerDel has also been notified of allowance of a US patent “Method for Cell Balancing for Lithium Battery” by the US Patent and Trademark Office. This patent will expand EnerDel’s patent portfolio in lithium batteries to 30 granted and 68 pending patents. The inventions covered by the new patent make it possible for the cells of a battery pack to be charged to specific and individual SOC (state-of-charge) levels that are unique and optimal to each individual cell, based upon data collected during the battery’s operation.
EnerDel’s invention also reduces the time required for charging and balancing of a multi-cell lithium chemistry battery system and reduces temperature peaks that can occur in conventional battery management systems during balancing.
Detroit better exploit this to the fullest. With all the connections to US automakers, they would be foolish - unless something better comes along - to dawddle this opportunity away.
Posted by: allen_Z | 02 January 2007 at 07:35 AM
When you see who owns part of whom, the financing of keeping a company in the game becomes complex. If you are doing startup rounds of capital, you face the possibility that the next round will not be there. Taking a company out of development can be very costly to everyone.
Posted by: SJC | 03 January 2007 at 07:17 AM