Saft America receives $6.13M USABC award for lithium-ion 12V stop-start battery technology development

Saft America Inc. has received a competitively bid, $6.13-million award from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC) in collaboration with the US Department of Energy (DOE) for 12-volt stop-start battery technology development. The contract includes a 50% cost-share by Saft.

The 30-month contract will focus on the development and delivery of lithium-ion 12-volt modules for vehicle stop-start battery applications consistent with USABC goals based on Saft’s advanced lithium-ion battery technologies along with battery management electronics.

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The new Saft contract follows research previously conducted with USABC for 12-volt stop-start battery technology development and an earlier contract to develop lithium-ion battery systems for hybrid electric vehicle applications.

USABC is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR). Enabled by a cooperative agreement with the US DOE, USABC’s mission is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that support commercialization of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles. In support of its mission, USABC has developed mid- and long-term goals to guide its projects and measure its progress.

USABC awards $5.48M Li-ion PHEV battery technology development contract to Johnson Controls

The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), an organization whose members are Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors, has awarded a $5.48-million lithium-ion battery technology development contract to Johnson Controls Inc.

USABC awarded the contract to continue Johnson Controls’ development of lithium-ion battery technology for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) applications to meet USABC goals for low-cost, long-life, high-power and high energy vehicle systems. The award, which completes work begun under previous contracts (NMC chemistry prismatic cell), is co-funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and includes a 50% cost-share by Johnson Controls.

The focus of this 24-month program is to further increase the volumetric energy density of a hard-cased prismatic cell technology developed in a preceding USABC-Johnson Controls program through a combination of innovative material and processing advances.

The improved energy density is aimed at reducing cost, volume and mass. All cells will be built either in Johnson Controls Battery Technology Center in Milwaukee or its Li-ion manufacturing facility in Holland, Mich.

The new contract is USABC’s third with Johnson Controls, previous research of which with USABC included competitively bid contracts for the development of battery cell, module and pack technology for PHEV applications and lithium-ion battery systems development for hybrid electric vehicles.

USABC is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR). Enabled by a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE), USABC’s mission is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that support commercialization of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles. As such, USABC has developed mid- and long-term goals to guide its projects and measure its progress.

Founded in 1992, USCAR is the collaborative automotive technology company for Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors.

USABC awards $8M advanced battery technology contract to A123 Systems

The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC (USABC), an advanced research collaboration among Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors, has awarded an $8-million advanced battery development contract with A123 Systems Inc.

The competitively bid contract award is co-funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and includes a 50% cost-share by A123 Systems.

USABC Requirements at End of Life for LEESS PAHEV. Click to enlarge.

USABC awarded the 24-month contract to A123 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). The new LEESS requirements call for a smaller, lighter, lower-cost battery cell with higher regenerative power capability, lower energy and improved cold-crank capability.

USABC is a subsidiary of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR). Enabled by a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE), USABC’s mission is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that support commercialization of electric, hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles. As such, USABC has developed mid- and long-term goals to guide its projects and measure its progress.

The new contract with A123 Systems is the company’s third development contract with USABC. In 2006, USCAR announced a $15 million, 36-month battery development contract with A123 to develop its Nanophosphate battery technology. A second $12.5 million technology development contract for plug-in hybrid electric applications was announced in 2008.

Source: Green Car Congress