Back in April, Th!nk made it known that they would be selling its all-electric "City" car in America in 2009 with a sub $25,000 price tag. With an ambitious desire to ramp up future North American sales into the 50,000 unit-per-year range, Th!nk and its financial backers have realized it doesn't make a lot of sense to be shipping so many cars across the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, especially when those cars have been constructed with labor paid for in euros Norwegian Kroners. Much better to build them in Mexico or the U.S. and not have to absorb all that shipping or worry about the growing gap in currency values. Also, since two of the three battery options to be made available will be supplied by Enerdel and A123 Systems, both American companies, the reasons for keeping production solely in Norway vanish.

To that end, Th!nk's American executives, based in Menlo Park, CA, are out shopping for a place to set up shop.
According to the Wall Street Journal, investment incentives, such as tax breaks from municipalities and states are among the criteria they will be considering. We suggest they choose a site with lots of room for expansion as they will need the extra real estate to begin manufacturing their Th!nk Ox model in late 2010.

Oh, and that "thwack" noise you're hearing from the general direction of Detroit may well be the sound of Ford kicking itself for selling off a brand that now looks so much like the future. Want a glimpse of that future? Check out the short, hyper advert put together by our Norwegian friends after the break.

UPDATE: Norway doesn't use the euro, as it isn't part of the EU. Our apologies.

A123 Systems has just earned yet another development contract for developing lithium ion cells for plug-in hybrid applications. The US Advanced Battery Consortium and the Department of Energy have awarded a $12.5 million, 36 month contract to A123. The company has already been working on several automotive plug-in hybrid battery applications including the Saturn Vue PHEV and the Chevy Volt. A123 also purchased Hymotion last year, a company that has been developing plug-in conversion kits for existing hybrids. The first retail Hymotion kit using A123 cells is due to be available this summer for the Prius.

The USABC contract calls for A123 to focus on improving the energy density of cells for plug-in applications. The A123 battery chemistry is of interest to automakers because of its inherent stability compared to the lithium metal oxide chemistry used for consumer electronics batteries. However, the more stable chemistry from A123 has lower energy density. The goal is to improve that characteristic for so-called charge depleting applications that are designed to run longer on electricity alone. The three-year program will also try to reduce cost, improve durability and make the cells more resistant to abuse.

[Source: US Advanced Battery Consortium]

A123 Systems is pretty hot right now. How hot? It's got more sizzle than the A123-powered Killacycle (pictured above). It's been on the receiving end of $100 million investment dollars in a little over a year. That's definitely hot. And it's not all about "what ifs" and "could bes", these guys are making all kinds of batteries for companies like Black & Decker and Hymotion. They are testing with GM's Volt and stand a good chance of becoming the main supplier (or at least one of the main suppliers) for that model. So it seems A123, as they say, will strike while the iron is hot and issue an IPO.

According to Scott Kirsner over at Innovation Economy, the deal could put the company's worth up around $1 billion. If you want to get in on the action you should have the whole summer to save up. Kirsner predicts September will be the magic month.

[Source: Innovation Economy via GM-Volt]

All you Prius owners out there who have been waiting patiently to to start running on grid power can almost stop holding your breath. Hymotion, the company that has been developing a plug-in kit for the Prius, has now started taking deposits for the L5 conversion kit. The kit costs $9,995 plus $400 for shipping and, of course, any applicable taxes. That price includes installation at an approved shop and a three year warranty. The first deliveries and installations should start this July.

The kit consists of a 5kWh battery pack filled with A123 lithium ion cells that fits into any second-generation (2004-2008) Prius. The pack can be fully charged in 4.5 hours at 110V and Hymotion claims a converted Prius will get up to 100mpg for 30-40 miles. Your mileage will of course vary. The pack has been crash tested and meets all current federal safety standards. Hymotion was bought up by A123 last year after doing a number of conversions for fleets and government testing.

[Source: Hymotion]

A123Systems recently completed a $30m round of fund raising, bringing total investments to $132 million. According to the company, the money will increase production capacity for batteries in pure electric, standard hybrids and plug-in hybrids. The cars are coming from major automakers "including a contract to co-develop proprietary cells for the GM E-FLEX program."

David Vieau, CEO and president of A123Systems says, "We continue to scale our production-proven and cost-effective designs to meet demand as we expand our presence in the automotive, aviation and hand-held power tool markets."

James Kim, partner with CMEA Ventures, a A123Systems investor, says "Our investment in A123Systems is based on their unique expertise in Nanophosphate-based lithium ion technology to provide a better energy storage source for vehicles, aircraft, tools and other demanding applications."

Other investors in the A123Systems include General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Alliance Capital, Motorola, Qualcomm, North Bridge Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, FA Technology Ventures, OnPoint, Carruth Management, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Desh Deshpande, the company's board chairman. You can read the press release in full below the fold.

[Source: A123Systems Press Release]

Ricardo Bazzarella and his partner Akos Toth founded Hymotion only two years ago. In that time they have developed a conversion kit for retrofitting Toyota Priuses and Ford Escapes to plug-in hybrid capability and were bought by A123 Systems last May. Since launching they have converted and delivered 35 vehicles, mostly to various governments and fleets for testing purposes; another 30 are due to be delivered in the next few months.

The Hymotion plug-in battery pack uses lithium ion cells supplied by A123 and is designed to fit in the same package size as the OEM nickel metal hydride pack. The converted vehicles have an electric-only range of about 35 miles. As some of the early production Priuses start to reach the end of the battery lifespan over the next few years, HyMotion hopes to tap into the replacement market with their plug-in kits. Hymotion is hoping that aftermarket, as well is increased interest from governments, utilities and other fleets, allows them to grow deliveries from a few dozen this year to as many as 2,000 in 2008.

[Source: Toronto Star]

A123 is the battery for the Chevy Volt. We live blogged that news for you. One of the selling points of the battery is safety. How safe is it? Ric Fulop and David Vieau of A123 systems gave us their answers, but look for yourself. This video purports to be the A123 battery getting a nail drilled through it. Nothing really happens. The same is done to other batters and they burst in flames and almost explode. If a demo like this was done for GM, I can understand why A123 is the Volt's battery.

Commenter to the video, Allamericom, wonders "if this was another ploy to discourage and frighten others from electric cars?" Ianbruce says they are using them in the Ventureone, an electric vehicle. He also says in a comment ""Don't get in an accident in your battery-electric car, unless you're using something designed for the purpose." ;)" The video has over 4,000 views since March 2007.

[Source: Youtube]

Following the announcement from General Motors the other day of a much closer working relationship with A123 Systems for development of the lithium ion battery cells for the Chevy Volt, AutoblogGreen sat down to talk with David Vieau and Ric Fulop of A123. Ric is the Vice President of business development and Founder of the company. David is the CEO and president.

AutoblogGreen: We got a big announcement this morning from GM. They're now going be working much more closely with you on the cell development. Why don't we start off by talking about that? Give us your perspective on this.

David Vieau: Well, it's a chance for us to get closer to GM and get a better understanding of what exactly they need which is a big part of this process. We're going to go back and forth and we have a relationship with them through Continental on the Volt program and through Cobasys on the Saturn Vue program, so we do have working relationship. This creates a direct connection with them on development of the cell. It's great.

ABG: How's the it been so far working with GM on the Volt program and also on the Vue program?

Ric Fulop: So far, very good. It's a lot of collaboration. It's been quite a bit of times that we've been working on these programs and our whole company is geared around delivering for this programs. This is a key part of what we're doing.

ABG: Are these your first major automotive programs? The Vue and the Volt?

Read the answers to this and many more questions after the jump.

Apparently the report in the Detroit Free Press that said that stated that employees at A123 Systems in Massachusetts got to drive a Chevy Volt prototype were completely erroneous. General Motors did bring the concept from the Detroit Auto Show, but that doesn't have a lithium ion battery pack in it. A GM employee drove the car at low speed and the employees got to take a close look at it but that's all.

The original concept only has enough power to move it around on the show floor and is by no means fully functional. According to an interview with A123 CTO Bart Riley conducted by Lyle Dennis from GM-Volt.com a month ago they did not yet have functional prototype packs yet for the E-Flex program. When I spoke to Cobasys Vice-President Scott Lindholm at an event in Ann Arbor around the same time he also confirmed that the partners were still evaluating whether to go with air or liquid cooling. In discussions with GM over the last several months they have repeatedly said the first real prototypes should be ready near the end of 2007.

[Source: GM-Volt.com]

A123 Systems, based in Massachusetts, was included in Congressional hearings the last few days discussing the conversion of hybrid vehicles to plug-ins. We have covered this story a few times already, so I won't be discussing it here, but something else of interest apparently came out in the discussions. It seems that employees of A123 Systems were given a sneak peek at the Volt, and even got to drive prototypes of the vehicle. The cars were apparently very similar to the one that we all saw in Detroit at the Auto Show. A123 is involved with the lithium ion batteries that will likely be used in the vehicle.

This all reminds me of when my older brother worked in the IT Department at Alcoa. You might remember that Alcoa built the aluminum structure of the EV1. He got a chance to drive prototypes of the EV1 before it was for sale. This all gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling for the Volt, because as you know, the EV1 did in fact make it out into the wild. I know, I know... these are totally unrelated instances, but at least it makes me feel better.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

Lyle over at the GM-Volt site managed to snag an interview Dr. Bart Riley. Dr. Riley is one of the co-founders and vice-president of R&D of Massachusetts based battery maker A123 Systems. A123 is one of the leaders in the field of designing and producing lithium ion cells.

They are currently involved in two different partnerships with Cobasys and Continental to provide large scale cells for use in the plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue program and the E-Flex development program. A123 is focusing on the cell development while their partners are working on pack integration and control systems. You can check out Lyle's interview at his site.

[Source: GM-Volt]

Hot on the heels of A123Systems announcing that they would start selling plug-in hybrid conversion kits that are developed with Hymotion, A123 is now buying Hymotion outright. Hymotion developed and fabricates battery packs that can be installed in the spare tire well of a Toyota Prius. The battery packs have integrated battery charge management electronics. So far the Hymotion system has only be available to fleets but regular consumers will be able to buy them in 2008.

[Source: A123Systems]

Not content to be a potential supplier of lithium ion batteries for GM's plug-in hybrid programs, A123 Systems will start selling battery packs that conversion companies can use to transform current hybrid vehicles to plug-in capability. The company has already been working with Hymotion on plug-in kits and they have a contract to convert ten Prius for the California South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The kits will be completely integrated and designed to be installed in under two hours. The installed price of the 5kWh kit for a Prius is $10,000 and gives a range of 14 miles on battery. A123 CEO David Vieau testified at a recent US Senate hearing in support of tax breaks for customers buying plug-in conversions. Fleet testing of the systems is ongoing and sales are expected to start in 2008.

[Source: GreenCarCongress]

Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief at Edmund's has his own blog on the site, and in the latest installment, he highlights an electric motorcycle that I have heard about before, the Killacycle. What I did not know is that the cycle is capable of making a run to sixty from a standing stop in 1.4 seconds. The lithium ion batteries for the cycle come from A123 Systems and cost $12,000 in this one-time application. Karl thinks that if these batteries are available right now for an electric motorcycle, and have been super reliable, then we cannot possibly be that far off from a reasonably priced plug-in hybrid. I think his argument makes perfect sense. Everybody who reads this site is probably familiar with the idea of economy-of-scale. Basically, the more of a product you make, the less each individual product will cost. Makes sense, right? If batteries like these were made in the amounts necessary for a midsize car which sold, say, 50,000 units per year, that $12,000 battery pack should go down in price. That is the idea, at least. Care to comment?

Related:

• Watch an electric motorcycle run an 8-second quarter mile

[Source: Edmunds]

The latest issue of Hot Rod just came, and on page 33 is a feature on KillaCycle. We mentioned KillaCycle a couple months ago after it was listed in a Yahoo! discussion group's top 12 electric-vehicle milestones for 2006. But it's nice to see this electric-powered bike get noticed in the preeminent speed and technology publication. KillaCycle, owned by Bill Dube, is powered by a pair of 6.7-inch motors with 374 volts of juice coming from A123 Systems lithium ion cells. The bike can make six full runs on one charge. Check out the video to see KillaCycle and rider Scott Pollacheck stop the clocks at the dragstrip in 8.76 seconds with a trap speed of 152 mph.

[Source: KillaCycle via Hot Rod]