August 2008

around the industry

Altair Nanotechnologies Appoints Copeland

The board of directors at Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. of Reno, Nevada, has appointed Terry Copeland, Ph.D., as its president and chief executive officer. He had been serving as interim president since March.

Dr. Copeland joined the company in November 2007 as vice president, operations, for the power and energy group. His duties included leading global operations and supply chain management for Altair's lithium titanate battery and stationary power products.

Prior to that he spent much of his career with Duracell, having joined it in 1992 as director of engineering for North America. He later founded T.M. Copeland Associates consulting firm and was vice president of product development and R&D at Millennium Cell Inc.

Copeland holds two degrees in chemical engineering: a B.S. from the University of Delaware and the Ph.D. from MIT, with a minor in law.

Companies Develop Superlattice Battery for xPrize

Superlattice Power Inc. of Mooresville, North Carolina, will jointly develop with Hybrid Technologies its super lattice battery in the highly anticipated electric vehicle submitted by Hybrid Technologies in the xPrize Competition sponsored by Progressive.

Superlattice Power's new Li-ion polymer battery with a new more affordable cathode material, Superlattice Structure, will be at the core of Hybrid's competition entry which increases drive ranges by 30% to 200 miles.

The Superlattice Power batteries with the superlattice structure is a hexagonal structure and can accommodate more lithium and more energy. The elements and specially transitioned metals have been selected precisely to make Superlattice cathode materials safe, environmentally friendly and more affordable.

Micro Power Supplies Custom Battery Pack

Micro Power, the Beaverton, Oregon-based global leader in portable power systems for mission-critical equipment, has manufactured a new, custom Li-ion battery pack specifically for Vocollect Healthcare Systems' AccuNurse® voice-assisted care system for the long-term care industry.

The battery pack uses a single prismatic Li-ion cell in a 103450 configuration that provides 2.0 amp-hours of capacity, and complies with the IEEE 1625 Standard for Rechargeable Batteries for Portable Computing. The battery pack gives healthcare providers a full shift of mobility while they administer personalized resident care and report daily activities with voice cues through headsets.

Innergy Power to Develop EV Battery Systems

ECOtality Inc.'s subsidiary, Innergy Power Corp. of Scottsdale, Arizona, plans to develop and manufacture advanced battery systems for electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle applications. Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. (eTec), also a ECOtality subsidiary, will provide Innergy Power with its Advanced Charge Management technology that optimizes battery performance for fast-charging with the eTec Minit-Charger fast-charge systems and provides real-time battery condition information for users.

Innergy Power's battery systems will feature optimized fast-charging capabilities to charge an EV or PHEV in 10 to 15 minutes while eliminating the risks of overcharging and extending overall battery life.

"Our ability to significantly increase our battery production capabilities at our Tijuana, Mexico, facility allows us to immediately capitalize upon the increasing demand for battery systems for hybrids, EVs and PHEVs," says Darrell Musick, president and CEO, Innergy Power.

Nexergy Inc. Receives $1 Million Commitment

Nexergy Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, has received a commitment to purchase more than $1 million of Li-ion battery packs from a U.K.-based company supplying batteries for use in mines and other environments characterized by the potential presence of explosive gas.

These batteries represent one of the first Li-ion battery packs approved for and used in applications that require intrinsically safe systems.The packs are used to power miner's cap lamps that have been qualified to IEC 62013-1, a standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission.

The intrinsically safe qualified eight-cell battery packs replace large sealed lead acid batteries. The key requirement for intrinsic safety is that the device not contain any components that produce sparks or that can hold enough energy to produce a spark of sufficient energy to cause an ignition in an explosive atmosphere.

TonenGeneral Sekiyu to Build Separator Film Plant

TonenGeneral Sekiyu Kabushiki Kaisha and two group companies owned by TonenGeneral's wholly-owned subsidiary, Tonen Chemical Corp., has signed agreements with the government of South Korea to construct a battery separator film plant in Gumi, South Korea.

The new plant, Tonen Chemical's first facility outside Japan, will be owned by its subsidiary, Tonen Specialty Separator Korea Ltd. and will manufacture battery separator films for the lithium-ion battery market. The new plant will use Tonen Chemical's advanced polymer and process technologies to produce battery separator films.

The new facility, in combination with the existing film plant at Nasu, Japan, will significantly enhance the company's supply capability for customers in the lithium-ion battery market.

Tesla Motors Hires Former Chrysler Executive

Tesla Motors has hired Mike Donoughe, a former senior Chrysler engineer, to head its engineering and manufacturing as it develops the Model S battery-powered sedan in addition to its $109,000 electric roadster. He was one of several high-profile departures from Chrysler after they were taken private last year.

Donoughe, 49, had been a vice president at Chrysler who headed up a project to redesign the No. 3 U.S. automaker's passenger car line-up. In addition to his work on Chrysler passenger cars, he also worked on design programs for Chrysler's top-selling minivans, its Jeep Wrangler SUV and Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Tesla, owned by PayPal creator Elon Musk, has built an electric sports car that can travel more than 200 miles on a charge and reach 60mph in under four seconds. The sold-out Tesla Roadster went into production in March. Tesla plans to build and deliver 600 sports cars this year.

Nippon Oil, GS Caltex To Make Battery Material

Nippon Oil Corp. will join with South Korea's GS Caltex Corp. to produce carbon materials for rechargeable batteries in South Korea.

Carbon materials are mainly used in cellular phone batteries, but demand is expected to rise for their application in rechargeable batteries that drive solar and wind power generation systems.

The two firms will conduct joint feasibility studies for the project. If they can confirm the profitability of the business, they will construct a factory together in Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do.

The new plant is slated to start operations in 2010, with annual sales of 5 billion yen targeted in 2015.

Carbon materials are the key parts of rechargeable batteries, and Nippon Oil's products are known for their high level of performance in terms of recharging and discharging electricity.

Valence Appoints Tognazzini to Board of Directors

Austin, Texas-based Valence Technology Inc., an international developer of safe lithium phosphate energy storage solutions, reports that Donn Tognazzini will be joining its board of directors, replacing John (Jack) Locy who is retiring.

"We are pleased to welcome Tognazzini to our board of directors," says Robert L. Kanode, Valence's president and CEO. "With more than 30 years of experience building and growing leading companies around the world, his track record and judgment will assist us in capitalizing on the many opportunities that lie ahead."

Recently, Tognazzini spent nine years as owner and operator of Gato Corp., an independent oil producer, which merged with Venoco Inc. Tognazzini earned a B.A. from Stanford University. After serving as an officer in Naval Intelligence in Los Angeles, he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Sanyo Sets up Li-ion Battery Plant in Hyogo

Sanyo Electric Co. will build a factory to manufacture rechargeable Li-ion batteries in Minamiawaji, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, according to a report from The Japan Times. Construction began in July.

The factory will start production by mid-2009. This will enable the company to increase monthly production capacity of Li-ion batteries by about 2 million units.

Sanyo also is building another plant in Kaizuka, Osaka Prefecture, which will also contribute to the overall capacity increase, according to the report.

Sanyo will invest a capital of $1.16 billion (¥125 billion) over the next three years for the project.