Altairnano's interim president Terry Copeland has moved up to president and CEO, the company announced today. Copeland has been the battery company's interim leader since March, just after previous CEO Alan Gotcher resigned. Copeland has been with Altair Nanotechnologies since November 2007 (when he was vice president of operations for Altair's Power and Energy Group). He also has a long history with the Duracell battery company. Copeland said that Altairnano, which is still in the game to supply batteries for the Phoenix SUT even after Phoenix Motorcars' recent shift to battery supply competitor Electrovaya, "has the people, technology and business plan to drive the commercialization of the company's power and energy products, as well as those in life sciences and performance materials."

[Source: Altair on CNNMoney]

Altairnano has had the spot light thrown on it recently as a result of an agreement between Electrovaya and Altairnano partner, Phoenix Motorcars. It is in this environment of speculation that they released their 2008 1st quarter earnings report. In a continuance of recent performance, they reported a slightly reduced revenue of $1.07 million and moderately increased expenditures. Net loss for the quarter was $8.29 million. So that's not so good, right?

While it definitely wasn't an outstanding financial performance, interim president Terry Copeland sounded relatively upbeat during the conference call with investors that broke the numbers to them. Now stored on their website, the call began with talk of one of Altairnano's brighter prospects, their deal with AES and the near completion of, so far, very successful testing. He stated the 2 megawatt battery system could move power around at a 4C rate or about 250kwh in 15 minutes. That certainly sounds impressive. In fact, throughout the talk, which also touched on the Phoenix Motorcars relationship, Copeland stressed the superior ability of their battery's power density as well as their extreme temperature tolerance. In an attempt to calm fears on the financial front he discussed their near-term goal of reducing the cash burn rate.

So what of the future? Perhaps not too bad if the AES relationship begins to bear some significant sales fruit. Their Navy contract also holds good earning potential. Mentioned briefly during questioning from investors was news of possible HEV applications, including a bus. You can listen to the conference call by clicking here and read the complete Q1 report for yourself after the jump.

[Source: Altairnano]

It appears that along with re-engineering the powertrain of their upcoming electric vehicles Phoenix Motor Cars has decided to hedge their battery bet. Phoenix was the first company to commit to using Altairnano's lithium titanate batteries in an automotive applications. However Canadian battery supplier Electrovaya announced the other day that they would be supplying battery packs to Phoenix. The obvious question is what becomes of Altairnano? According to Phoenix Marketing VP Bryon Bliss, the company will be offering packs from multiple suppliers. Both Altairnano and Electrovaya batteries will be sold for the upcoming SUV and sport utility truck. The Altairnano batteries have the advantage of being able to withstand 10 minute rapid charges. Unfortunately they only have about half the energy density of other lithium battery technologies and so far they are also much more expensive. We're still trying to get more clarification on timing and cost differences for the different battery packs and we'll keep you updated.

[Source: Green Car Congress]

In an interesting twist to the saga that is the development of the Phoenix Motorcars electric SUT & SUV program comes news that they are now partnering with a Canadian battery maker. In a press release from that company, Electrovaya says that they are now negotiating an arrangement with Phoenix and have already begun the work of integrating their proprietary Lithium Ion SuperPolymer® battery along with its intelligent battery management system ("iBMS").

Phoenix Motorcars President and CEO, Daniel J. Elliot is quoted by the release as saying, "We are pleased to have Electrovaya join forces with us, and we are excited to be working with their team and their advanced technologies. Electrovaya's innovative Lithium Ion SuperPolymer® battery technology stands apart from its peers as a platform, chemistry agnostic technology. Electrovaya's systems expertise and design experience provide what we need in terms of battery performance." Hmm. That strikes us as possibly being in conflict with a statement made by the CEO a couple months ago in a different press release which can still be found on the Phoenix Motorcars website. And we quote, "We wholeheartedly support Altairnano's technology and believe they provide the greatest product available on the market today." Altairnano being the company that has been trumpeted as the supplier of their battery of choice for some time now, we wonder if a similar fate has befallen them as has their original motor supplier, UQM. Or perhaps Phoenix plans on utilizing the power packs from both companies. We shall try to get the straight dope and let your enquiring minds know but in the mean time go ahead and read the available details in the press release after the break.

After losing a CEO and then more money than expected in FY07, there's finally a bit of potential good news from Altairnano. The battery company that should be powering the Phoenix SUVs by now has announced (release after the break) an expansion to Altairnano's facility in Anderson, Indiana from 30,000 square feet to 70,000. The reason is "a growing base of potential long-term clients including Phoenix Motorcars and the AES Corporation, among others." Potential? We're ready for some detailed vehicle testing reports, already. While we wait for those, anyone want to speculate about which companies Altairnano's Director of Operations, Dave Lynch, was talking about when he said, "We do have several other automotive companies that we're working with on some ideas for both hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and all electric vehicles"?

Several factors hurt Altair Nanotechnologies' fiscal results in FY07: warranty replacement costs and higher research and development expenses have made the company report a wider loss despite higher revenues. $6.78m worth of warranty expenses and inventory impairment were related to the first-generation battery packs that were sold to Phoenix Motor Cars. As for R&D, costs rose to $15.4m compared to $10.1m in 2006.

Altair has lost $31.5 million, which is more than the $17.2 million reported in 2006. On a per share basis, the loss was $0.45, compared to a loss of $0.29 last year.

[Source: RTT News]

Phoenix Motorcars, the company behind the much-anticipated electric SUT with the SsangYong body and Altairnano battery has given their website a fresh look in anticipation of increased traffic. Set to finally begin building their vehicles for fleet customers and take a few retail orders, the company from Ontario, California has rolled out the welcome map with a fresh set of pixels and features.

The feature I was just having fun with was the savings calculator. You tell them the cost of the vehicle you're thinking of buying, it's gas mileage, and a few other variables and POW!, they give you a graph that shows you how long it will take to get some serious return on your investment. If you like the results you can sign up to reserve one of these for yourself.

Bonus video: For a short video of their plant and a bit of a test drive, hit the jump.


[Source: Phoenix Motorcars / YouTube]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Lightning GT

We were starting to worry. It has been 9 months since we first heard about the all electric Lightning GT sports car from England. At the time there were photographs of a sleek blue sports car with lines and curves revealing an unmistakably British pedigree. There was talk of the incorporation of the latest technological breakthroughs from both Altairnano and PML Flightlink. There was boasting of Tesla Roadster-like performance and whispers of a Ferrari-like price tag.

Since then, nothing. Had it been a figment of our collective imagination? Had they shuffled off this mortal coil or were they merely just pining for the fjords? Unlike other companies in the process of developing electric cars, there have not been company blogs keeping everyone up to date on the latest technological development or thoughts and musings of its founders and monied investors. No daily avalanche of press releases, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. There hasn't even been so much as a drizzle of debate on internet forums as to whether the company is legit or its product is vaporware. There has only been a kind of unsettling silence that has kept me repeatedly scurrying back to their website or doing the occasional Google news search for any signs of recent respiratory activity. That is, until now.

Now, not only is there a press release to confirm that The Lightning Car Company still lives but there are new photographs pictures revealing that the car has undergone a modernizing redesign. Have the in-wheel motors survived the redesign? How about the Nanosafe battery? Hit the jump to find out.



[Source: The Lightning Car Company via EV World]

According to a press release on Altairnano's web site, Dr. Alan Gotcher has agreed to resign "as an officer of the company." Dr. Gotcher was appointed CEO back in August 2004 and President in March 2005. No reason was given in the release but the language makes it sound like it wasn't his decision. Dr. Terry Copeland, formerly of Millennium Cell, Inc., who was hired on as vice-president in November of last year, will step in as interim president.

For those of you who have been living in a cave for the past of couple years, Altairnano is a company which exploits nanotechnology to create disruptive products and is best known for their fast charging, umpteen-cycle-enduring lithium titanate battery.

Altairnano stock dropped sharply on this news but now appears to be rebounding nicely. Hopefully the company can put this transition behind them quickly and get on with the business of getting their product out of their doors and into our cars, Navy ships, and dragsters. Read the press release for yourself at the jump.

Related:

• AutoblogGreen Q&A: AltairNano CEO Alan Gotcher

One company we haven't been hearing too much from of late is Phoenix Motorcars. They made a pretty big splash in 2006 around the same time that Tesla launched and they've turned up at all the usual conferences and events with prototypes of their electric pickup truck. They grabbed a lot of attention for their plans to use Altairnano's lithium titanate batteries with their potential for 10-minute quick charges.

Subsequently, some doubts began to surface about the viability of the company's business plan due to the high cost of producing their vehicles and the reliance on selling clean air credits to fund operations. When the company launched they said that they would start off by supplying their trucks to fleet customers such as PG&E. We got word from a reader last week that he had received an e-mail from Phoenix indicating they were ready to start taking some orders from retail customers for their sport utility truck and SUV. We decided to call up Phoenix and get the full scoop which you can find after the jump.

We told a few days ago about Dennis Berube and his record-setting 1/4 mile run in his electric dragster, the Current Eliminator V. Now thanks to the magic of YouTube you can see the 7.956 second run at almost 160mph. The dragster "fueled" by a bank of Altairnano batteries is eerily quiet as it does its burn-out and and then its solo run down the strip. Check out the videos, including one from an on-board camera, after the jump.

[Source: YouTube, thanks to Domenick for the tip]

Just two weeks after setting an NHRA record for electric dragsters in Whittman, AZ Dennis "Kilowatt" Berube moved on to Tucson, AZ, and did it again. Berube ran 153.6 mph in the quarter mile in Whittman and then turned around and ran 159.65 mph with a 7.956 second elapsed time. His Current Eliminator V is powered by Altairnano lithium titanate batteries. Berube has been racing battery powered dragsters for 17 years. At the track, Berube does quick charges on his battery packs with a modified Miller Electric welding generator. The generator has been reworked to up the output from 12,000W to 18,000W allowing the $200,000 battery to be charged in 15 minutes. That allows him to make up to 10 runs down the strip per day.

[Source: Altairnano]

Got a need for speed? Strap on a battery pack and his the track. That's the idea behind the Current Eliminator V, which set a new electric dragster world speed record in the National Hot Rod Association's (NHRA) Super Pro class of 153.6 mph at the Speedworld Motorplex drag strip in Tuscon last Saturday. The Current Eliminator V did the quarter-mile in 8.10 seconds at the hands of Dennis "Kilowatt" Berube. The dragster was powered by Altairnano's lithium-titanate battery packs. Berube is a founding competitor of the National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA). As you might guess from the "V" following the vehicle's name, the record-setting zero-emission rocket is the fifth iteration of the Current Eliminator. The fourth version won "more prize money than any other dragster in Arizona" last year, competing "against conventional gasoline and alcohol dragsters," according to Altairnano.

[Source: Altairnano, Current Eliminator website, h/t to Domenick]

There's some interesting financial activity going these days in the electric vehicle realm and it wouldn't be surprising to see some consolidation happen soon. In the past year Phoenix Motorcars and Zap have trailed only the Tesla Roadster and Chevy Volt in attention for battery-propelled vehicles. Unfortunately for both companies (and Tesla) revenues have not been in proportion to press coverage and as we all know building a complete vehicle is not a trivial challenge.

Phoenix has just topped up their bank account with $40 million courtesy of Dubai investor Al Yousuf. Only days earlier, Al Yousuf invested a similar quantity in Altairnano Technologies, the battery supplier to Phoenix and prior to that injected $5 million in Zap. We'll be watching the action here, but it's interesting to see a Middle Eastern Investor buying up chunks of electric vehicle and battery startups.

Update: I misread the original source. The amount invested by Al Yousuf in Phoenix has not been disclosed yet. The investment is in the form of convertible debt .

[Source: Green Car Congress, thanks to Domenick for the tip]

The popular Motley Fool investment site today published a list of "3 Stocks That Missed the Mark." One of those is the common AutoblogGreen presence Altair Nanotechnologies. Now, AutoblogGreen doesn't get into investment tips or anything like that, but the Fool is not the only one to dampen the good news that Altair puts out. Part of the problem, writes Anders Bylund of the Fool, is that, "One key customer reportedly delayed a $3.2 million order for Altair battery packs while waiting for the federal standards wheels to grind out a battery interface specification." It's no secret that Phoenix Motorcars is a Altair customer, and is keeping the company's nanotech batteries for the Phoenix SUT, but in smaller versions than previously announced.

Bylund also says that "Altair keeps burning cash at an alarming rate" and that investors looking to fund nanotech companies might want to look elsewhere.

[Source: Motley Fool / Anders Bylund]