Maxell Corp. (Fair Lawn, NJ) has expanded its series of rechargeable lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries with 16 sizes to meet the requirements of the telecommunications, laptop and PDA markets. The company's batteries, which stay to the standardized footprints in telecommunications, focus on a choice of profiles in 13 versions. They provide from 600mAh to 1,500mAh. […]
Ultralife Batteries Inc. (Newark, NY) has identified ArialPhone LLC (Vernon Hills, IL) as the OEM previously announced to receive custom polymer rechargeable batteries. Shipments for the initial order, valued at over $800,000, began in February 2001 and have now reached volume-production levels. The battery is for ArialPhone's new voice-activated wireless communications product that will be […]
QUANTUM Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IMPCO Technologies Inc. (Irvine, CA), announced that it has developed and shipped its advanced hydrogen storage system for the first ThunderPower fuel cell bus being built via a partnership between Thor Industries Inc. (Jackson Center, OH) and ISE Research Corp. (San Diego, CA). QUANTUM provided the system […]
A team of adventurers in Japan announced that they are planning to cross Antarctica between November 2002 and January 2003 on fuel-cell-powered vehicles to demonstrate the usefulness of the new energy source. The team, Challenge Antarctica 21, will consist of three to six members, led by Mikio Chiba. The trek will be over 2,700km via […]
Enova Systems (Canada) announced its participation in an advanced-energy technology showcase hosted by the Department of Energy. The event was attended by President George W. Bush, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, White House Chief-of-Staff Andrew Card and other key members of the administration. Among the companies joining Enova Systems were Ford Motor Co., General Motors, […]
Superior MicroPowders LLC (SMP, Albuquerque, NM) has received a $3.63-million contract from the Department of Energy (DOE) for the development of low-platinum-content electrocatalysts and membrane-electrode assemblies for PEM fuel cell applications. The awarded contract, Development of Improved Ultra-low Platinum PEMFC Cathode Structures through an Integrated Powder-Discovery-Production Platform with Digital Layer Prototyping, will be performed by […]
Isuzu Motors Ltd. (Japan) will be releasing a small hybrid truck powered by an electronic motor and a diesel engine as early as 2002. The company is reported to have plans of producing about 1,000 units of the truck by 2004. Isuzu also plans to offer the hybrid technology to General Motors Corp. (Detroit, MI), […]
Exide Technologies (Princeton, NJ) has announced that it may, pending shareholder approval, exchange up to 20 million shares of its common stock for some or all of its debt. The company reports that it has received approval to revise some covenants in its $900.0 million credit facility through September 2002, which provided the opening for […]
Dr. Hiroshi Shimizu, a professor of the faculty of environmental information at Keio University (Japan), has designed a new eight-wheeled electric car...
O2Micro International Ltd. (Santa Clara, CA) has been granted 28 claims under US Patent Number 6,246,215 for its Buffer Battery Power Supply System. The system provides a measurement scheme to monitor power delivered to the active system, ensuring system-power integrity. The Buffer Battery Power Supply IC provides an analog method of shifting available power first […]
Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ECD, Troy, MI) announced that its Ovonic Battery Co. Inc. subsidiary has been awarded a contract by the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) to develop a liquid-cooled, plastic mono-block battery for heavy-duty hybrid-electric vehicles. The 30-month, $5.0-million, fifty-fifty, cost-share contract calls for coordinated research and development to be carried […]
General Motors (Detroit, MI) and QUANTUM Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of IMPCO Technologies Inc. (Irvine, CA), have announced an equity partnership deal for the development of hydrogen-storage devices that they claim could make future fuel cell vehicles competitive with today's gasoline vehicles in terms of range. GM will be acquiring a substantial minority ownership position […]
Avista Labs (Spokane, WA), the distributed power affiliate of Avista Corp., has selected Maxwell Technologies (San Diego, CA) PowerCache ultracapacitors to optimize performance and reduce the cost of its modular fuel cell systems and components. Avista Labs is developing fuel cell products initially for applications in distributed power generation and industrial power backup systems. It […]
SatCon Technology Corp. (Cambridge, MA) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Inverpower Controls Ltd. (Canada). SatCon has paid $100,000 in cash and will issue 400,000 shares of common stock as consideration for the purchase of Inverpower. Closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, but the acquisition […]
Valence Technology Inc. (Henderson, NV) announced that it has opened an office in Austin, TX, which will house the company's sales, marketing, operations, systems engineering and finance functions as of August 1, 2001. This move is designed to centralize Valence's business functions in Austin, while dedicating its existing Henderson, NV facility to the continued research […]