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US car battery companies seek $1B in federal aid
December 18, 2008
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U.S. battery companies have joined forces to ask the federal government for at least $1 billion to help build a lithium-ion cell foundry.
The alliance envisions a plant that would produce advanced lithium-ion cells. Individual companies would then purchase cells and add proprietary technology and control systems to prepare the batteries for use in electric vehicles.
The new consortium, which calls itself the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture, wants the U.S. government to help battery companies compete with those in Japan and China. The American companies say they fear that Asian firms will dominate the battery market for electric vehicles unless something is done soon.
The group was modeled on the semicondiuctor industry's SEMATECH.
The group is made up of 14 companies, including Fremont, Calif-based Mobius Power; Reading, Penn.-based EnerSys; Austin, Texas-based ActaCell; 3M; Johnson Controls-Saft, a collaboration of Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) and Bagnolet, France's Saft; and chemical-maker FMC Corp. of Philadelphia. Argonne National Laboratory is also participating.
Although companies such as Panasonic dominate the car-battery market, U.S. companies are making progress. Watertown, Mass.-based battery developer A123Systems has signed deals with Oslo, Norway's electric car maker Think Global and Detroit's General Motors (NYSE: GM) (see GM, A123Systems to co-develop battery).
Menlo Park, Calif.-based Imara is also pursuing the electric vehicle market with lithium ion batteries.
Other companies, such as Texas-based EEStor, are promoting ultracapacitors as a better solution than lithium-ion batteries.
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Comments
Seeking federal aid is detrimental in the long run.
Submitted on December 19th, 2008 by Unregistered user (not verified)Though it is important for American battery companies to be competitive with their Asian counterparts, I do no think that we should subsidize battery manufacture.
First, we really don't need it. America has some of the best university research facilities in the world. Many VCs are willing to fund clean tech developments.
Second, subsidizing battery manufacturers will make them dependent on government handouts to remain competitive. Other countries don't subsidize (aside from some R&D money) their manufacturers. Look at the disaster that farm subsidies have created: we spend $80bn annually to "help" the farmers, mostly by paying them to not grow crops.
Third, at a time when the Federal budget deficit is expected to reach $1 trillion in FY2009, it's rather insensitive for these manufacturers to demand money from the already overburdened taxpayer. Public money is for the public good, not for private interests.
I realize that the bailout culture has begun when we bailed out the banks. It continued when we bailed out the automakers. Both bailouts were wrong. The battery manufacturers, who are in much better financial shape than their bank and automaker counterparts, should not get Federal money to build a battery manufacturing plant. Three wrongs don't make a right.
Battery Consortium
Submitted on December 20th, 2008 by EVtransPortal (not verified)A123 buys it's cells from Asia, and has them assembled in Europe by Continental (for Vehicles) like the Chevy Volt, (I guess that since they have offices in Massachusetts you can call them a US manufacturer, but that is a stretch.) although the Volt deal apparently has gone to Compact Power and LG Chem
Ener 1 was lined up to start manufacturing batteries for the Think, but they have stopped production on the Think due to the financial crisis and the Norwegian Government does not appear to be willing to bail them out. I'm not sure how having US taxpayers spend billions more to help 3M, GE and companies like FMC is going to change the fact that it's still going to be way cheaper to produce the advanced batteries in China. Just look at the price of the Chinese BYD hybrid at $22,000 with 60 mile electric range versus over $40,000 for the Chevy Volt with 40 mile electric range. There is no lithium-ion battery manufacturing for cell phones in the US for the same reason, (higher production cost) and that market is needed to support vehicle battery production.
Disgusting!
Submitted on January 9th, 2009 by Unregistered user (not verified)The government should not be giving out aid to ANYONE. If your business fails on its own merit, you have NO RIGHT to take my money (via government taxation) to make it profitable. America really is becoming a corporate fascist/socialist state. Soon every industry will have such intrinsic ties to government that we will no longer be a Republic of, for, and by The People, but one of, for and by global corporate interests.
Thanks to Bush (the old fascist) and Obama (the new Socialist) for forwarding these agendas.
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