May 2008

around the industry

EEEI Receives First Order, Appoints Chairman

Electro Energy Inc.'s (EEEI's) Gainesville, Florida manufacturing facility has received its first commercial battery order for 18650BX rechargeable lithium-ion cells. The plant is the largest manufacturing facility for 18650-type batteries outside Asia and has the capacity to produce 30 million cells per year.

EEEI's 18650BX cells have 2400mA capacity and 3.6V nominal voltage. The weight of each is 46 grams. The volumetric energy density is 525Wh/l and the specific energy is 188Wh/kg. The cells operate at -30C to 60C.

During the past several months, a large quantity of cells was produced at this facility and have passed internal qualification testing. Currently, the cells are undergoing safety and qualification tests at independent testing laboratories as required by military and commercial customers. Certain customers are also testing the cells for conformance with their requirements.

In other news, EEEI has appointed Bruce L. Lev as chairman. Lev has served as a director and chairman of the audit committee since June 2007. His appointment follows the resignation of Martin Klein, who will continue to serve as a director. The board also appointed Jeffrey Auerbach as a director and member of the corporate governance and nominating committee.

Spectrum Brands to Increase Workforce

Spectrum Brands Inc. is increasing its workforce at the Rayovac manufacturing facility in Fennimore, Wisconsin. The new jobs are expected to increase the total number of employees at the facility from 200 to approximately 250.

Rayovac has recently developed advanced alkaline technologies designed to deliver maximum battery performance in meeting the increasing power requirements of high technology devices. This technology is an outgrowth of a multi-year joint research project between Rayovac and the U.S. Army's Communications -- Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC).

VIASPACE Products Showcased at Florida Seminar

VIASPACE Inc. Energy Division introduced its new VIASENSOR BA-1000 Battery Electrode Health Analyzer, a state-of-the-art lithium battery test station, at the 25th International Battery Seminar and Exhibit in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in March. Dr. Rachid Yazami, leader of the team that invented the BA-1000 at Cal Tech-CNRS (France), made an invited presentation on battery electrode results achieved using this technology (see page 18).

VIASPACE also displayed its VIASENSOR HS-1000 humidity sensor for fuel cells and introduced the new line of lithium polymer batteries that the company is now marketing and distributing under an agreement with YOKU of Hong Kong.

"Cal Tech has granted VIASPACE an exclusive license to the technology underlying our new BA-1000 product, which nondestructively measures changes in thermodynamic properties of lithium batteries during the charge and discharge cycles," says Dr. Carl Kukkonen, CEO of VIASPACE.

Saft Batteries Support Successful Space Docking

The Jules Verne automated transfer vehicle (ATV) has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS). The ATV was developed for the European Space Agency by EADS ASTRIUM Space Transportation. It will deliver a consignment of propellants, food, water and scientific equipment and is the first European spacecraft to autonomously dock with the ISS.

The ATV is equipped with eight onboard primary and rechargeable batteries. Friwo-brand Saft primary lithium batteries (Li-MnO2) provided power to the docking system and will also provide power for the separation from the ISS at the end of the mission. Prior to the docking, these batteries were maintaining the docking system and contributed to all the critical maneuvers successfully tested during ATV demonstration days.

Having docked, the Saft Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries will supply the ATV with power during the 30 minutes of every 90 minute orbit when the vehicle's solar panels are eclipsed by the earth's shadow.

Denmark Utility Joins Agassi's Electric Car Venture

Project Better Place CEO Shai Agassi has reached an agreement with Denmark's largest utility, DONG Energy, to foster and implement his electric car venture in the country. The two companies will jointly build the infrastructure for the power supply and recharging points for the cars. Electricity will be generated from renewable energy sources, such as Denmark's wind farms.

Denmark's deputy prime minister said that the government would support Project Better Place, and announced a tax exemption on electric cars through 2012, at which point it will review the subject.

Sanjoy Banerjee Joins Grove School of Engineering

Dr. Sanjoy Banerjee has joined the faculty of The Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York (CCNY) as Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Technologies. He joins Grove from The University of California, Santa Barbara, where he had taught since 1980.

Banerjee's vision calls for the Institute to develop sustainable energy technology to generate electricity from renewable, but intermittent, sources as well as existing nighttime overcapacity, store it efficiently and deliver it on demand. Initially, the Institute's work will focus on developing flow battery applications for use in buildings and transportation.

AMETEK Acquires Reading Alloys

AMETEK Inc. of Paoli, Pennsylvania, has acquired niche specialty metals producer Reading Alloys of Robesonia, Pennsylvania. With annual sales of $80 million, Reading Alloys is a global leader in specialty titanium master alloys and highly engineered metal powders used in the aerospace, medical implant, military and electronics markets.

"Reading Alloys' titanium master alloys are experiencing outstanding growth," says Frank S. Hermance, AMETEK chairman and CEO. "The company's titanium powders expand our position in customized titanium products, adding to our capabilities in strip and foil products used in medical devices, electronic components and aerospace instruments."

Sodium-Sulfur Battery Stores Wind Power

A village near the northern tip of Japan's main island is the proving ground for a 5-meter-high (16-foot) bank of sodium-sulfur batteries built by Nagoya-based industrial-ceramics maker NGK Insulators Ltd. that may be the world's cheapest wind-energy play.

NGK's sodium-sulfur units, costing ¥294 million ($2.9 million) per megawatt, store electricity for sale when demand is greatest and have 4.3 times the capacity of lead-acid batteries. They may permit Japan Wind Development Co. to triple to ¥27/kWh what it charges at peak times for power from the turbines in Rokkasho, while the profit surges sixfold to as much as ¥13 yen, says Nobuyoshi Sato, an analyst at Ichiyoshi Securities Co. in Tokyo.

EnerDel Receives Positive Results

The Center for Transportation Research of Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory has confirmed the energy, thermal performance, power and efficiency of EnerDel's lithium-ion automotive battery system. For the tests, the company integrated its lithium-titanate battery system into a Toyota Prius hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), which comes factory fitted with a nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery system. No other material modifications were made to the Prius.

Based on tests in a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) configuration, EnerDel achieved 77.41mpg over a Federal urban drive cycle. Argonne ran a standard PHEV test on the Prius HEV to estimate future vehicle performance in a PHEV configuration.

EnerDel's lithium-titanate battery pack avoided overheating during the test--a principal concern with lithium-ion batteries. The 1,000Whr pack required no external cooling system when powering the test vehicle on the dynamometer, which could lead to reduced costs and increased space compared to a NiMH battery system.

Idaho National Labs previously confirmed that EnerDel's system could produce twice as much energy as the Prius' NiMH battery. As a result, the lithium-titanate battery can be reduced to half the size and weight of a NiMH battery with the same performance. EnerDel also expects its pack to cost significantly less than a NiMH..

Mitsubishi Chem to Mass-Produce Battery Material

The Nikkei reports that Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. in Japan plans to start mass-producing a material for Li-ion batteries used in hybrid vehicles in the fall of 2009.

The Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. unit will invest ¥2 billion and set up a facility that can produce 600 tons of the positive-electrode material a year at its Mizushima factory in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture.

Mitsubishi Chemical believes that its effort will mark the first mass production of a positive-electrode material for hybrid-vehicle Li-ion batteries. The firm, which also produces battery electrolytes and other battery-related materials, aims to lift sales of such materials to more than ¥100 billion.

Valence, Securaplane Work on Long-term Agreement

Valence Technology Inc. reports a potential long-term agreement with Securaplane Technologies Inc. to develop a power supply for aviation needs. The memorandum of understanding will place lithium phosphate batteries from Austin, Texas's Valence into commercial and business aircraft. Tucson, Arizona-based Securaplane supplies batteries, security systems and wireless technologies to airplane manufacturers.

Under the agreement, both companies will work to finalize a long-term contract where Valence will be the sole provider of lithium-phosphate batteries.