Evercel Announces Battery Order

Evercel Inc. (Danbury, CT) recently announced a sale of 6,000 of its Model 40/12V nickel-zinc batteries by its joint venture in China, the Xiamen Three Circles-ERC Battery Co. Ltd. (XMERC, China). The sale is to the Taiwan EVT Technology Co. Ltd. (Taiwan).According to Evercel, beginning in the second quarter of 2000, the batteries will be installed in 1,500 high performance 48V electric scooters produced by EVT. The total amount of the order is approximately $1.3 million to fulfill EVT's second quarter 2000 requirements.Evercel claims that additional orders are planned for the balance of 2000. XMERC is producing the batteries in its factory in Xiamen, China."Clearly, this is a major milestone for Evercel and our partner is Xiamen," said Robert L. Kanode, president and CEO of Evercel. "It is further concrete evidence that our unique, rechargeable batteries are meeting and exceeding all the performance tests required by our customers. It is a validation of both our products and our overall plan to launch them into the commercial marketplace."Evercel also recently announced that its premium nickel-zinc batteries have been officially confirmed as a subsidized battery technology by the Taiwan government. According to Evercel, the Taiwan government will subsidize each scooter manufacturer that uses Evercel's nickel-zinc battery.According to the company, the action is the direct result of comprehensive performance testing, conducted by the Energy and Resources Lab of Taiwan Industrial Technology Research Institute, which simulated the cycle life of batteries for electric vehicles. The block of four Evercel 12V, 30Ah batteries, standard configuration in an electric scooter, was manufactured by Xiamen Three Circles-ERC Battery Co. Ltd. Evercel claims the battery achieved the best results of all tested batteries and received the highest financial incentive ever granted in Taiwan, approximately US$750 per scooter. Evercel's 12V, 22Ah battery also qualified for substantial government incentives of about US$500 per scooter."Our batteries continue to pass the most rigorous tests conducted by third party independent test labs," said Kanode. "In this case, our battery out-performed others and was deemed acceptable for the government of Taiwan to offer scooter manufacturers an economic incentive that will help to open up the market for clean and quiet electric transportation in the Far East."