Investment Into Battery Industry Continues Despite Economy
Just as a rising tide floats all boats, a falling tide, or in this case a struggling economy has adverse affects on everyone. However, in recent months the battery industry has shown signs of overcoming this economic climate as millions of dollars are being invested into the industry, especially into the development of new technologies.
We wrote recently about American battery manufacturer Ener1, who has been among the corporations to find success as of late as Asian energy conglomerate ITOCHU has contracted them to market their lithium-ion batteries in Japan. Just this past Friday, Cleantech reported that UK-based energy storage startup Nexeon Limited raised $14.2 million to continue development of its silicon-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries.
The article on Cleantech also mentioned several other battery makers who have seen success in raising caital as of late-
“In January, Westborough, Mass.-based lithium-ion battery maker Boston-Power said it raised a $55 million venture capital round to help it meet demand for its lithium ion battery for notebook computers but said it also planned to target the vehicle market (see Boston-Power eyes vehicle market as it gets $55M funding). A few weeks earlier, Boston-Power gained the spotlight after revealing it was chosen to provide its Sonata battery as an upgrade to Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) notebook PCs starting early this year.
In December, Littleton, Colo.-based Infinite Power Solutions said it raised $13 million to ramp the company as it begins shipping solid-state, rechargeable thin-film batteries (see Infinite Power raises $13M to ramp thin-film batteries). Later that month, Menlo Park, Calif.-based Imara emerged from stealth mode to announce it plans to begin producing its high-power rechargeable lithium ion batteries in 2009 for applications such as power tools, lawn equipment and electric motorcycles (see Battery maker Imara emerges from stealth).”
With approximately $2 billion of funding for advanced battery research being included in the economic stimulus package, this trend of investment into the development of battery technology, and the industry as a whole, is only likely to continue.
Category: Battery News
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