Batteries

Nov. 03, 09 -- Total announces the signing of a research agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop new stationary batteries that are designed to enable the storage of solar power.

This agreement valued at $4 million over five years is part of the MIT Energy Initiative, which Total joined as a member in November 2008.

The Total-MIT research project is primarily focused on development of a low-cost, long-life battery suited to store the power generated by solar panels. The ability to store power is a major challenge and an essential ingredient for the scale up and widespread deployment of affordable solar power.    » read more »

Governor Delivers on State of the State Promise to Create Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium

October 5 , 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced the first round of requests for proposals under the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium, known as NY-BEST. Governor Paterson called for the consortium in his State of the State address earlier this year, and announced the creation of NY-BEST and $25 million in dedicated funding in May.    » read more »

DOE grants to Michigan companies could help create up to 40,000 new jobs by 2020

August 27, 2009 -- LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today visited Eaton Corporation in Galesburg to highlight the company's key role in a $45.4 million advanced-battery award by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Michigan led the nation earlier this month with the announcement of 12 awards totaling more than $1.35 billion in federal grants for advanced-battery and electric-vehicle manufacturing and development.

Funding for the competitive grants comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The projects are estimated to create 6,800 jobs in the next 18 months and up to 40,000 jobs by 2020.    » read more »

IBM Research Explores Battery Technologies to Further Electric Vehicle Adoption and Make Energy Grids More Efficient

SAN FRANCISCO - 23 Jun 2009 -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) will gather many of the top minds in science, industry and technology to explore the next frontier of electrical energy storage and advanced battery systems - key technologies that will power smarter energy grids, support widespread use of electric cars, and more - at its annual Almaden Institute in San Jose, California, on August 26 and 27.    » read more »

12 May 2009 -- ERIE, Pa. -- GE Transportation, a unit of the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), announced today the next step in its commitment to develop leading hybrid technology. The Company announced plans to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for advanced storage batteries.

The new battery business will be a part of GE Transportation and will serve customers in the rail, marine, mining, telecommunications and utility sectors. As the leading producer of diesel-electric locomotives, GE has a rich history of delivering breakthrough technologies that are today commonplace in the rail industry.    » read more »

State To Provide $15 Million to Support New Sodium Battery Manufacturing Plant; Facility Would Create 350 New Jobs in Upstate New York

May 12, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson and General Electric (GE) Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt today announced that GE has proposed the establishment of a new sodium battery manufacturing facility in the Capital Region that would also create 350 new jobs.

The announcement is the latest success in Governor Paterson’s bold clean energy agenda, which is positioning New York as a global leader in energy efficiency and renewable energy technology. Continuing on this path will position New York to become a net exporter of clean energy technologies to the rest of the world.    » read more »

May 12, 2009 -- LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today signed a bill into law that authorizes a tax credit to support LG Chem-Compact Power Inc's $200 million lithium-ion battery manufacturing operation in Troy, a partnership with General Motors, which was approved last month by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) board. The project is expected to create more than 300 new jobs in Michigan.

Legislation that established tax credits for three other advanced battery projects - Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions LLC, KD Advanced Battery Group LLC, and A123Systems Inc. - was signed into law by the governor in January and April.    » read more »

May 7, 2009 -- LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. -- Missouri Governor Jay Nixon toured the production facility at Kokam America in Lee's Summit this morning to urge the Missouri Senate to take urgent action to pass the administration's emergency jobs bill. The bill, which has passed several times in the Missouri House of Representatives, would provide vital resources to help high-tech, next-generation companies expand and create jobs.

Kokam America is a growing manufacturer of cutting-edge lithium battery projects, which are used in applications such as computers, emergency response vehicles and U.S. military fighter jets. The company's U.S. headquarters are in Lee's Summit.    » read more »

Research Initiative Will Create Jobs, Spur Investment in New York’s Clean Energy Economy, and Begin to Transform Our Transportation Systems

May 5, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced the creation the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (known as NY BEST), implementing a key goal identified in his State of the State address and helping to position New York as the global leader in energy storage technology. The research and development initiative is one of the first of its kind in the nation and is a critical component in advancing the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) industry in New York.    » read more »

Companies investing $1.7 billion

April 14, 2009 -- LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that Michigan's aggressive effort to grow the advanced-battery industry and the jobs it will create has resulted in four companies announcing plans to invest more than $1.7 billion to launch advanced-battery manufacturing facilities in Michigan. The projects that will create 6,683 new jobs in Michigan were awarded state refundable tax credits that will help the companies in their quest for some of the $2 billion in federal grants for advanced-battery research and development.

The four projects announced today are: Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions LLC, LG Chem-Compact Power Inc., KD Advanced Battery Group LLC, and A123Systems Inc.    » read more »

Governor's radio address discusses importance of diversifying Michigan's economy and attracting more high-tech jobs

April 10, 2009 -- LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today said that Michigan will help reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil by becoming the advanced-battery capital of the world and the home of a new generation of electric vehicles. This week, the governor signed legislation for additional refundable tax credits, bringing the total to $555 million, that will expand opportunities for companies to develop and manufacture advanced batteries in Michigan.    » read more »

Efforts part of FreedomCAR program to get lithium-ion batteries into cars

March 31, 2008 -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers in the Power Sources R&D group at Sandia National Laboratories have been driving nails into batteries, heating them to extreme temperatures, overcharging them, and putting them into some of the most adverse conditions possible to see how much abuse they can take before they blow up.

And for certain types of lithium-ion batteries the answer is a lot.

Sandia researcher Peter Roth prepares to blow up a battery to see how robust it is.: The work is part of the DOE-funded FredomCAR program. (Photo by Randy Montoya)    » read more »

October 12, 2007 -- The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Kawasaki branded Power Tool Batteries

Units: About 1.6 million (sold in 800,000 tool sets)

Distributor: Alltrade Tools LLC, of Long Beach, Calif.

Hazard: The battery packs can overheat and melt during charging, or fracture during use and expel plastic shards, posing burn, laceration, and bruise hazards to consumers.    » read more »

DALLAS (August 27, 2007) - Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today introduced the industry's lowest power zero-crossover operational amplifier (op amp). Featuring a unique single-input-stage architecture, the OPA369 achieves rail-to-rail performance without input crossover to solve the common design problem of input offset distortion due to the change in common mode voltage that is very prominent in low-voltage, rail-to-rail applications.    » read more »

August 9, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries containing Sony cells used in Toshiba notebook computers.

Units: About 1,400

Computer Importer: Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., of Irvine, Calif.

Battery Cell Manufacturer: Sony Energy Devices Corp., of Japan    » read more »