Snatching the car battery biz from Asia
Ener1 aims to fuel the car of the future and bring jobs to the Midwest. But the jury is still out on whether or not it can compete against its larger, more established rivals.
By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: June 15, 2009: 10:33 AM ET
Excerpts:
INDIANAPOLIS (CNNMoney.com) -- Thousands of jobs are riding on Ener1's efforts to build the best car battery in the world.
The start-up firm is the only U.S. company able to mass produce batteries on American soil for an automobile industry poised to make a monumental shift from gasoline to electric power.
Many say whoever controls the battery industry will control the auto industry and the thousands of jobs that go with it.
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On the technology side, Ener1 is thought to have some of the best ideas going.
The chemicals it uses in coating the lithium strips that make up the battery are said to be top-notch. Unlike some of its competitors, the chemicals allow the company to produce different types of batteries for different types of vehicles. That's a competitive advantage, said Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch alternative energy analyst Steven Milunovich, who has a buy rating on the stock.
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"We are the first people to provide this breakthrough in terms of the flat, stacked design and work with revolutionary new chemistries," Gassenheimer recently told Fortune, CNNMoney's sister publication. "We may have as much as a two year advantage over our competition."
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Ener1 may be the only U.S. company making batteries in America now, but they probably won't be for long. The privately held A123 Systems, which already makes batteries in Asia, may have a plant stateside in the next few years. |
