a123systems

GE boosts bets on battery technology

NISKAYUNA, N.Y.--With a 1914 electric car displayed outside, General Electric last week hosted a symposium on batteries for transportation and the electricity grid.

GE has been working on battery-powered vehicles for decades. Although those projects didn't yield mass-produced electric vehicles, GE executives said that the conditions for increased use of batteries on the grid and in vehicles have never been better.

The same conditions that are driving GE's Ecomagination initiative--a limit on natural resources like fossil fuels and fresh water as well as regulations to cut carbon emissions--make batteries a good area for research, said Mark … Read more

Battery maker A123 Systems files to go public

Boston-area battery upstart A123 Systems on Friday said that it plans to go public and raise $175 million.

The company, which is not profitable, on Friday filed papers in which it said it intends to raise as much as $175 million, based on the registration filing fee. The money will be used to expand it manufacturing and research facilities as well as pay back about $2.5 million in debt.

A123 Systems was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology seven years ago to commercialize lithium-ion batteries for a range of applications.

The batteries, which the company says last … Read more

A123 Systems plugs lithium-ion batteries into power grid

A123 Systems has signed on electricity utilities to use its lithium-ion batteries for short-term energy storage, according to a company executive.

The company, spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a closely watched venture that is best known for activity in the auto and power tools markets.

It is working with General Motors for plug-in hybrids and Think for all-electric town cars. A123 Systems also owns Hymotion, a company that converts hybrid cars to plug-in hybrids.

But lithium-ion batteries, already used in millions of consumer electronics devices, can be plugged into the electricity grid as well, according to … Read more

Want a plug-in hybrid? Get in line for a battery

A123 Systems has created a Web site where Toyota Prius owners can preorder a battery to convert their cars to plug-in hybrids capable of getting well over 100 miles per gallon.

The switch from hybrid to plug-in hybrid doesn't come cheap, though. The battery and installation costs $9,995, plus an extra $400 "destination fee" and taxes.

The battery, called Hymotion 5, is designed to fit into the spare tire slot underneath the trunk of Prius model years 2004 to 2008. The company didn't say when the batteries would be available.

A123 Systems said the extended-life … Read more