Dec 8 2008
Ener1, Inc. (AMEX:HEV), maker of advanced lithium-ion battery solutions to power the next generation of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, today announced a cooperative partnership among EnerDel, Ener1's lithium-ion battery subsidiary, a heavy duty original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and the Department of Energy, to develop high-energy batteries for hybrid bus and heavy duty vehicle markets.
The partnership is a congressionally directed program with a total budget of $1.25 million, 80 percent of which will be funded by the National Energy Technology Laboratory at the Department of Energy, and the remaining 20 percent will be funded by EnerDel.
The program has been designed to test EnerDel's multiple hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) battery chemistries under real world conditions. Three of EnerDel's advanced chemistries have been selected for testing in extreme environments, ranging from hot and cold climates to operating the hybrid battery in full electric mode for extended periods of time. The significance of this would be to simulate long driving distances where the goal is to eliminate noise and pollution in tunnel and other city driving applications. The heavy duty OEM will identify and deliver drive cycle requirements for each environment. The program will partially complete the collection of testing and drive cycle data necessary to produce battery systems solutions for HEV bus and heavy duty vehicle markets.
"Ener1 has some of the world's leading experts in the field of lithium-ion chemistry," said EnerDel CEO Ulrik Grape. "Our ability to work with multiple chemistries makes this an ideal project to test our HEV batteries in different environments. This program is further testimony to the advanced and diverse nature of our technology and battery system solutions, and will help accelerate time to market through the rigorous testing and collection of data."