All About Alternate Fuel Vehicles (AFV)

Source: IndyStar.com /Oct 10, 2007
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071009/
BUSINESS/71009078/-1/topstoriesrecache

Racing against competition to offer a better battery for hybrid vehicles, EnerDel said it has developed a lithium-ion battery that is smaller, more powerful and longer-lasting than the batteries now in use. EnerDel officials say the company’s new lithium ion battery runs cooler and can be punctured without exploding. It’s a “major milestone. We are close to bringing this to the market,” said EnerDel’s Chief Executive Ulrik Grape on Tuesday.

The Indianapolis company, which held a news conference Tuesday to announce its research success, said it hopes to sign a contract soon to sell batteries to a major automaker and begin commercial production by 2009.
If that occurs, employment at its Northeastside plant could soar from 55 workers to several hundred, EnerDel said.

Developing the lithium-ion battery for cars “is a major milestone. We are close to bringing this to the market,” said EnerDel Chief Executive Ulrik Grape. Lithium-ion batteries commonly are used to power laptops and cell phones. Developing larger models for use in cars has been problematic, in part because they can be unstable: They run hot and can explode if dropped.

EnerDel has developed one that runs cool, is unaffected by low temperatures and doesn’t short out even when punctured. It expects to be the first to mass-produce the batteries. An EnerDel video shows a nail being run through its battery with no ill effect, while conventional lithium-ion batteries that were overcharged exploded in flames when punctured.

There is a “huge market” for better batteries in hybrid gas-electric vehicles, and EnerDel appears to be a leader in serving that market, said Susan Eustis, a battery analyst for WinterGreen Research in Lexington, Mass. “It’s a very vibrant and interesting market. No question, there are going to be huge breakthroughs in this area,” she said.

Engineers led by Chief Operating Officer Naoki Ota came up with the design over the past two years. EnerDel’s battery is about the size of two regular automobile batteries. Competitors in the race to develop a better battery include Japanese electronics giants Panasonic and Sony. Hybrid vehicles now in use by a growing number of drivers are powered by a regular engine and an electric motor fed by a nickel metal hydride battery pack.

Beyond the automotive industry, markets for the battery technology include military and aerospace, asset tracking and other specialty battery applications, EnerDel said.

Bill Wylam, who formerly headed the Delco Remy division in Indianapolis that produced batteries for General Motors, lauded the EnerDel battery as “a great achievement.” “I almost feel like I’m watching one of my kids graduate from medical school,” he told the crowd, crammed into a conference room at EnerDel’s 100,000-square-foot plant.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. will meet with EnerDel soon to talk about possible economic incentives the state can offer, said Paul Mitchell, policy director for economic and work force development in the governor’s office.

“The potential for job creation and investment down the line is a tremendous opportunity,” Mitchell said. EnerDel and other companies “could make Indiana a hub for innovation in hybrid vehicle technology,” he said.

EnerDel’s Indianapolis plant is big enough to handle its projected manufacturing needs for two to three years, Grape said. EnerDel is one of five battery makers that have received millions of dollars in funding from the three major U.S. automakers through the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium. The company has received grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, too.

Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., was on hand to help unveil the battery, covered with a gray cloth at the front of the room. “Oh my,” Burton said as he helped lift the wrap. “This is phenomenal. This is the whole thing?”

Company officials led Burton on a 10-minute tour of the factory, where two $1 million coating machines pour lithium in a thin watery mixture into cells in the battery. EnerDel’s parent company has spent more than $100 million so far to develop the battery. Other investors include a Russian timber mogul, Boris Zingarevitch, and New York hedge fund Satellite Asset Management.