On March 5, 2008, General Electric, the company, and Think Global announced that the three firms had entered a partnership to enable global electrification of transportation.[citation needed] GE invested US$20 million in the company to help it roll out batteries for Think.[citation needed] The company and Think at the same time signed a commercial supply agreement. The partnership was announced at the 78th annual international Motor Show in Geneva.[7] After over $10 million in investment in the Think Global Think City, A123 ceased production of its L20 battery pack for Think after a single day of production in December, 2008.
In January 2009, A123 systems applied to the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVMLP) for US$1.84 billion in direct loans to support the construction of new lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities in the United States, locating the first plant in southeast Michigan near Detroit.[8] The application was still pending as of early 2012, the company estimated that it might be allowed to borrow up to US$233 million from the program.[9]
In April 2009, Chrysler Corp. announced a contract with A123 to supply batteries for their ENVI EV vehicles.[10]
In August 2009, the company received a US$249 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVMLP) to build production facilities in Romulus and Livonia, Mich.[11] after it received a US$125 million in tax credits and incentives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in spring and a US$10 million grant from the state in fall 2008.[12]
In September 2009, the company raised US$380 million after going public on the NASDAQ stock exchange.[13]
In 2009, the company was included on the Guardian's "Global Cleantech 100" list.[2] Later, A123 was selected to Technology Review Magazine's list of the 50 Most Innovative Companies 2011.[14]
Chrysler's ENVI division was disbanded by Nov 2009.[15]
In December 2009, the company formed a joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), the largest automaker in China. This was the first joint venture between a Chinese automaker and a non-Chinese battery supplier. The new venture is called Advanced Traction Battery Systems (ATBS).[16]
In August 2010, A123's co-founder Professor Yet-Ming Chiang spun off a new company from A123 named 24M Technologies, which makes technology that combines concepts in current lithium-ion batteries with flow batteries, where tanks of liquid electrolytes combine to create an electric current.[17]
In 2010, A123 received a US$249 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for building battery production facilities. Approximately $129 million of the grant was used to build a 550 MWh battery plant in Livonia and another in Romulus.[18] An untapped $120 million grant was abandoned by A123 by May 2012.[19]
From its founding in 2002 through 2011 A123 raised over $1B in private equity, public finance and government funding.
In September 2010, the company opened the largest lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in North America in Livonia, Michigan. When fully operational, the factory is expected to be capable of producing battery packs for the equivalent of up to 30,000 electric cars per year.[20]
In March 2011, the company received its third contract from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): a US$8 million advanced battery development contract to continue developing its Nanophosphate® lithium ion battery systems to meet USABC's target application for a Power-Assist Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PAHEV) Low-Energy Energy Storage System (LEESS).[21]
The company laid off 125 workers in December 2011 as forecasted demand for its batteries did not materialize. The company had 60 customers with a combined projected demand for the equivalent of 100,000 plug in hybrid battery packs and factory capacity for up to 30,000 such packs and facilities capable of expansion to meet the demand. Fisker projected 15,000 unit demand in its first production year but only ordered 1500. GM, SAIC, and BMW all fell significantly below projected demand as the EV market developed much slower than anticipated. Simultaneously the US government pulled back on loans to developing clients forcing a series of bankruptcies in the emerging marketplace. Fisker, A123's top client, had its Government loan pulled and it received only $196M of the originally committed $500M loan. A123 had to issue a battery recall for all batteries in a car developed by Fisker.[22] A123 Systems had more than 3000 employees as of December 2012.[23]
The company formed a joint venture with SAIC Motor to manufacture its batteries in China in early 2010.[25]
In February 2018, A123 announced an investment in Ionic Materials' solid-state battery technology. Ionic is developing a unique polymer electrolyte that claims new levels of safety and performance in advanced batteries.[26]
Product recall
In early 2012, the company announced the replacement of defective battery packs and modules supplied to about five customers, including Fisker Automotive. The defect caused a Fisker Karma to shut down in a Consumer Reports test. It estimated the recall would cost about US$55 million.[citation needed] Fisker reduced its purchase order of battery from the company to lower its inventory. Cylindrical cells made in China that are used by BMW and others were declared as not affected.[9]
Wanxiang acquisition and bankruptcy
In August 2012, Chinese automotive components manufacturer Wanxiang Group agreed to invest up to $465 million to acquire as much as 80% of A123 Systems;[27] but the acquisition was not completed before A123 filed for bankruptcy.
In early October 2012, the A123 Systems' stock was trading for 27 cents per share, down from a 52-week high of $4.44 per share about a year beforehand.[28]
On October 16, 2012, A123 filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. On January 28, 2013, Wanxiang America purchased the preponderance of A123's assets out of bankruptcy for $256.6M and organized A123Systems, LLC.[18][29]
An earlier statement, released by A123 Systems in early October, said that it had entered an asset purchase agreement with Johnson Controls, with the stipulation that the company's bid must be approved by a US bankruptcy court and could be topped by a rival bidder.[30] Johnson did not win the bankruptcy auction and withdrew its bid in early December.[23]
On October 16, 2012, A123 filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. The filing listed assets of $459.8 million and liabilities of $376 million.[31][32] The company also stated that its automotive assets would be purchased by Johnson Controls, a supplier to A123, for $125 million.[33] On January 28, 2013, Wanxiang America purchased the preponderance of A123's assets out of bankruptcy for $256.6M and created A123Systems, LLC.[18][29] The government business was sold to US firm Navitas Systems for $2.25m.[34]
Lithium Werks sale
In March 2018, the US battery manufacturer Lithium Werks announced it took over the Chinese factory of A123 Systems in Changzhou, plus the workforce and clients base in China, Europe and the United States. After the merger the Texas-based company owns factories in China and offices in the US, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, the UK and Norway.[35] Lithiumwerks continued the production of the 'nanophosphate' battery range, renaming the cells from 'A123' to 'Lithiumwerks' by the end of 2019.[36]
Following the sale of their factory, A123 said it wanted to concentrate on the automobile market.[35]
In May 2011, A123 introduced a lithium-ion 12V engine starter battery designed as a lighter-weight, longer-lasting and more environmentally friendly drop-in replacement for lead acid batteries.[41] A123's Nanophosphate® Engine Start Battery was selected to R&D Magazine's 2011 R&D 100, which salutes the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year.[42]
Killacycle, formerly the world's quickest electric vehicle, capable of accelerating from 0–100 kilometres per hour (0–62mph) in less than 1 second.[46]
Ohio State University's Buckeye Bullet, an electric landspeed racer powered by A123's batteries, broke the international electric vehicle speed record in August 2010, reaching 307.666 m.p.h.[47]
In May 2011, A123 signed an agreement with Mavizen, a leader in electric motorcycle racing technology, by which Mavizen will make A123's battery technology available for TTXGP racing and other two-wheel motorsports.[48]
An ultra-light electric vehicle powered by 880 A123 Li-PO4 batteries, Brigham Young University's Electric Blue Streamliner set a land speed record for the 'E1' vehicle class (cars less than 1,100 lb), averaging 204.9 m.p.h. in two runs in September 2014.[49]
Electric grid
In November 2008, A123 entered into the electric grid market by delivering its first battery energy storage system to AES Corporation for use at several AES substations in Southern California.[50]
In November 2009, A123 announced the commercial operation of a 12MW operating reserve project at the AES Gener Los Andes substation in the Atacama Desert in Chile.[51]
In December 2010, AES Corporation secured a loan from the United States Department of Energy to fund a 20MW frequency regulation energy storage system using A123's battery technology at the AES Westover power plant in Johnson City, New York.[52]
In February 2011, A123 announced its second project in Chile with AES Gener—a 20MW operating reserve energy storage system to be installed at a new 500MW power plant in Northern Chile called Angamos.[53]
In July 2011, A123 announced a contract to supply a 500kW advanced energy storage system to Dongfang Electric, the third largest manufacturer of wind turbines in China and the country's largest exporter of power equipment, as a demonstration project to help evaluate how advanced energy storage can address the challenges associated with the rapid growth of wind power in China, where only about 72% of the country's wind turbines are connected to the power grid, according to the China Power Union.[54][55]
In October 2011, AES Corporation unveiled a 32MW energy storage systems featuring A123's battery technology at the Laurel Mountain Wind Farm in West Virginia to be used for renewable integration and frequency regulation. As of its commissioning date it was the largest lithium-ion battery energy storage system of its kind then in operation.[56] This site was successfully commissioned in December 2011.
In March 2014, Japan's NEC announced its purchase of A123's grid energy storage business for $100 million.[57]
A123 had LiFePO4 Cells in the form 18650, 26650 and Pouch Cells with 14 and 20Ah. The company EVLithium reports that A123 has additional Pouch cells: A123 38AH NMC Lithium ion Pouch Battery and A123 LiFePO4 Battery 50AH[58][jargon]
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to A123 Systems.
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
Think Global was a Norwegian electric car manufacturer located in Bærum, which manufactured cars under the TH!NK brand. Production of the Think City was stopped in March 2011 and the company filed for bankruptcy on June 22, 2011, for the fourth time in 20 years. The company was bought soon after by Electric Mobility Solutions AS and production ceased in August 2012 with no more announcements regarding future production. As of October 2010, a total of 2,500 units had been manufactured at Oslo-based TH!NK's production facility.
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery pack that can be directly replenished via a charging cable plugged into an external electric power source, in addition to charging internally by its on-board internal combustion engine-powered generator. While PHEVs are predominantly passenger cars, there are also plug-in hybrid variants of sports cars, commercial vehicles, vans, utility trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, mopeds, military vehicles and boats.
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The history of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) spans a little more than a century, but most of the significant commercial developments have taken place after 2002. The revival of interest in this automotive technology together with all-electric cars is due to advances in battery and power management technologies, and concerns about increasingly volatile oil prices and supply disruption, and also the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2003 and 2010 most PHEVs on the roads were conversions of production hybrid electric vehicles, and the most prominent PHEVs were aftermarket conversions of 2004 or later Toyota Prius, which have had plug-in charging and more lead–acid batteries added and their electric-only range extended.
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A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that uses electrical energy exclusively from an on-board battery pack to power one or more electric traction motors, on which the vehicle solely relies for propulsion. This definition excludes hybrid electric vehicles, which use internal combustion engines (ICEs) in adjunct to electric motors for propulsion; and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs), which consume fuel through a fuel cell or an ICE-driven generator to produce electricity needed for the electric motors. BEVs have no fuel tanks and replenish their energy storage by plugging into a charging station or electrical grid, and use motor controllers to modulate the output engine power and torque, thus eliminating the needed for clutches, transmissions and sophisticated engine cooling as seen in conventional ICE vehicles. BEVs include – but are not limited to – all battery-driven electric cars, buses, trucks, forklifts, motorcycles and scooters, bicycles, skateboards, railcars, boat and personal watercraft, although in common usage the term usually refers specifically to passenger cars.
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Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program is a $25 billion direct loan program funded by Congress in fall 2008 to provide debt capital to the U.S. automotive industry for the purpose of funding projects that help vehicles manufactured in the U.S. meet higher mileage requirements and lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Of the 108 requests made, 5 were approved to receive $8.4 billion, with the majority of that amount under repayment.
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