Sep 17 2009
ENER1, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV) , developer and manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion batteries to power the next generation of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles, is teaming-up with Volvo Car Corporation to provide American-made lithium-ion batteries for the Volvo C30 Battery Electric Vehicle prototype, being unveiled in Gothenburg, Sweden today. The battery is designed and developed in the U.S. by EnerDel, Inc., Ener1's U.S. battery subsidiary. This follows the recently announced collaboration with Volvo on the plug-in hybrid V70 demonstration vehicles being road tested in Europe this fall, which also feature EnerDel lithium-ion batteries.
The C30 Battery Electric Vehicle is part of Volvo Car Corporations DRIVe Towards Zero Strategy and is a mobile test bed proving that through intelligent packaging and technology, a pure electric vehicle can be great to drive while not compromising on factors such as luggage space and interior comfort.
It is designed as a zero emission, city commuter car covering the day-to-day mobility needs of more than 90 percent of European commuters. The 150km (95 mile) range and packaging efficiency of the vehicle is derived in a large part from the highly efficient lithium-ion battery, designed and manufactured by EnerDel, who produces some of the highest energy density battery cells in the world. The EnerDel battery for the C30 battery electric vehicle (BEV) is custom made and is a 'split battery', with an energy content of over 24 kWh nominal energy, of which 22.7 kWh is used to power the car.
"We are delighted to be partnering with Volvo again on this exciting development project which aims to test the technical solutions of a full Volvo battery electric vehicle, in the highly desirable Volvo C30," said Ulrik Grape, President, Ener1 Europe. "We are developing a close working relationship with Volvo and are collaborating intimately on integration of the battery and safety in these advanced vehicle concepts."
The new project follows a series of announcements from Ener1 in the last month including the appointment of a new President for EnerDel and a further strengthening of the senior management team, the creation of a new European Division, acquiring a leading shareholder position and securing a long term supply contract with Think Global, and being selected to receive a $118.5m in Federal Grant Funding to double production capacity in the US.
Ener1 develops and manufactures compact, high performance lithium-ion batteries to power the next generation of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles. The publicly traded company (NASDAQ: HEV) is led by an experienced team of engineers and energy system experts at its EnerDel subsidiary located in Indiana. In addition to the automobile market, applications for Ener1 lithium-ion battery technology include the military, grid storage and other growing markets. Ener1 also develops commercial fuel cell products through its EnerFuel subsidiary and nanotechnology-based materials and manufacturing processes for batteries and other applications through its NanoEner subsidiary.