Axion Power: Improving on the Conventional
by Debra Fiakas CFA While the rest of the battery industry is trying to perfect new technologies, Axion Power International (AXPW: OTC/QB) has been working on a fix for conventional lead acid batteries. Low cost made the lead acid batteries popular even from the early days when a French scientist first introduced the configuration in the mid 1800s. Lead-acid technologies represent about half of batteries made today. Unfortunately, lead-acid batteries have low energy-to-weight and volume. Storage times are limited. They also have corrosion problems. The active materials in lead-acid batteries change physical form during charge...
Lithium Technology Dominates Large Energy Storage Projects
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
Market share for lithium technology has been extended by another 22 megawatts with the selection of lithium-based batteries by Duke Energy (DUK: NYSE) for three separate of power facilities operated by Duke Energy Florida. Duke did not specify the source of the lithium-based batteries, but the company seems to have an affinity for Tesla’s (TSLA: Nasdaq) battery products. Last year Duke Energy with its partner University of South Florida chose Tesla’s lithium-based batteries for a 100-kilowatt solar project in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Application of lithium-based technology in a relatively small, microgrid application like that in St. Petersburg is no surprise. Lithium-based batteries offer high energy...
Altair Nanotechnologies Awarded $250,000 Grant for Advancement of Its Alternative Energy Program
Altair Nanomaterials (ALTI) announced that it has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Indiana Advanced Energy Technologies Program (AETP) initiative. The grant funding must be used to manufacture products containing products that are not currently in the U.S. market, and that are above industry standard in terms of energy efficiency (e.g. hybrid automobiles, fuel cells) and/or incorporate an innovative technology, such as nanotechnology, that allows the product to save energy. The grant money will be used for test equipment for the manufacturing of lithium ion cells, batteries, and battery packs. The stock gapped open this...
US Should Approve A123’s Sale
Doug Young A123 Systems battery cell products (Source: A123) In writing this blog, I generally try to keep my own views muted and focus instead on the latest news and what it means for the companies involved. But I'm making one of my occasional exceptions to that rule today to say that the US really should go ahead and approve the sale of bankrupt battery maker A123 Systems (OTC:AONEQ) to a Chinese company, since this deal seems to have few if any national security implications and blocking...
Valuation Primer For Energy Storage Companies – Lesson #2
John Petersen On November 6th I published Lesson #1 in this series, which provided a quick side-by-side comparison of Ener1 (HEV) and Exide Technologies (XIDE). Yesterday two more companies that I track, A123 Systems (AONE) and Enersys (ENS), reported results for the September quarter. The quick summary is that Enersys handily beat street estimates while the bleeding at A123 continued unabated. To follow up with the format I introduced last week, the first graph is a simple market performance comparison of the two companies over the last year. The second graph comes from my...
One, Two, Three Uses for A123’s New Batteries
Tom Konrad CFA A123 Systems battery cell products (Source: A123) A123 Systems′ (NASD:AONE) announcement of a new battery technology able to operate at both extremely high and low temperatures has the headline writers dreaming of cheaper electric cars. Electric cars may be dreamy, but they are just one application of the technology. There are at least two more, with significant near term potential. 1. Is it really about electric vehicles (EVs)? Sure, it would be nice to be able to trim $600 of the price tag of a Tesla (NASD:TSLA) Model...
Yankee Graphite
Several graphite developers have made plans to integrate forward into the hottest segment of the market - battery-grade graphite. According to Industrial Minerals, spherical graphite suitable for lithium ion battery anodes is priced in a range of $2,700 to $2,800 per metric ton in China where many battery manufacturers are located. This compares quite well to the range of about $655 to $790 per metric ton for flake graphite concentrate.
The integration strategy has sent the sector into a frenzy of activity to prove their graphite meets expectations of battery manufacturers. The only graphite deposit in the U.S. mainland is under development by Westwater Resources...
Energy Storage: Q3 2012 Winners and Losers
John Petersen I usually write a quarterly recap to summarize what happened in the energy storage and vehicle electrification sectors, but Q2 was a tough enough period that I don't see much sense in dwelling on the bloodletting. So instead of focusing on the past, I'll offer a quick summary table with lots of red ink and turn my attention to Q3, which is shaping up as a time of bright opportunity for some companies and profound risk for others. I expect three companies in my tracking group to perform very well in Q3 –...
Ener1 And Delphi Sign LOI To Form Lithium Battery Joint Venture
ENER1 INC (ENEI) and Delphi Corp. (DPH), today entered into a non-binding letter of intent to create a joint venture to leverage their combined expertise in lithium batteries. Delphi and Ener1 will be negotiating definitive agreements and conducting due diligence in the coming weeks. "The combination of Ener1's vapor deposition process and its nanotechnology for production of high-rate, low-cost lithium batteries with Delphi-developed high energy capacity technology would allow the venture to have a key advantage in penetrating its target lithium battery markets," — Kevin Fitzgerald, Ener1's CEO. ENEI is up over 14% on this news...
Common Sense in Energy Storage Investing
John Petersen In the wake of last fall's initial public offering by A123 Systems (AONE) I wrote a four part series on battery investing for beginners. Over the last six months, changes in the storage sector have been coming at a fast and furious pace and many of my recent blogs have focused on technical minutiae rather than the stock market. They've led to heated debate with die hard EV advocates who don't understand the difference between technical and economic reality and religious belief, but I'm not sure how useful they've been for investors who see the potential...
Altair Nano: Advanced Battery Sellout
by Debra Fiakas CFA Advanced battery developers have not had an easy time of it in recent years, or at any time for that matter. There have been three bankruptcy declarations this year alone. Ener1 and A123 Systems (AONE: OTC/PK) were rescued by deep-pocketed buyers, who scooped up technology, contracts and relationships. In this second post in the series we look at another advanced battery sellout. Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI: Nasdaq) has managed to avoid court rooms. However, it did have to put itself up on the block, selling a majority of its...
Charging Your Portfolio With Tesla’s Gigafactory
By Jeff Siegel Last week, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced that its next electric offering a competitively priced electric vehicle will hit the market in 2017. Dubbed the Model III, the 200-mile-range electric vehicle will go for $35,000. Certainly this was big news for electric car enthusiasts particularly those who can't afford an $85,000 Model S but yearn to drive one. But if you regularly follow trends in the electric vehicle space, at least the way I do, you know Tesla's announcement was just one of many big moves in the space over the...
Tax Payer Investment in Advanced Batteries
by Debra Fiakas CFA For better or worse various government agencies in the United States have provided significant financial support for advanced battery development and production. The federal government has a goal of deploying one million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by the year 2015. The replacement of gas-burning cars and trucks is expected to reduce economic dependence upon foreign oil and reduce carbon emissions that threaten our health and climate. We all understand this line of reasoning. Public funds for battery development have been channeled through a mix of contracts for products and services, research grants, loan...
A123′s Deal With China’s Wanxiang Would Value the Stock at $0.55 a Share
Tom Konrad CFA A123 Systems battery cell products (Source: A123) It was no secret that A123 Systems (NASD:AONE) was desperate for money. It’s also no secret that Chinese companies are interested in buying Western companies, especially when they can acquire useful technology in the deal. So this morning’s announcement that Wanxiang Group Corporation, a Chinese largest autoparts manufacturer which has significant US operations, had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to invest up to $450 million in A123 through a combination of bridge loans, convertible notes, and warrants seems...
President Obama Announces Battery Manufacturing Grant Awards
John Petersen During his address today at Navistar International's (NAV) facilities in Elkhart, Indiana, President Obama announced a total of $2 billion in ARRA battery manufacturing grants and another $400 million in Recovery Act awards for transportation electrification. The complete list of grant recipients, most of whom are private companies, is available here. The recipients of $1.25 billion in the primary class of grants for cell and battery manufacturing facilities are as follows: Johnson Controls JCI $299.2 Production of nickel-cobalt-metal battery cells and packs, as well as production of battery separators...
Ultralife Batteries Receives $1.9 Million Battery Order
Ultralife Batteries Inc (ULBI) has received an order valued at approximately $1.9 million for its new BA-5390A battery with state-of-charge indicator from the U.S. Defense Department. Deliveries are expected to be completed this quarter. This is the second order against the company's Next Gen II, Phase IV five-year battery contract.
