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]

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]

AeroVironment, a company that helps build drones (unpiloted flying machines) for the U.S. military as well as earlier work on vehicles like the Sunraycer and the GM Impact, announced today that its ten-minute recharge demonstration of an Altair Nanotechnologies 35kWh battery pack was successful, and restored enough power to drive the car for two hours at 60 mph. The demo was performed for folks from California Air Resources Board (CARB) at AeroVironment's Monrovia, California Energy Technology Center.

AeroVironment used a 250kW, grid-connected AV advanced battery charger for the demo. AV says that its earlier tests of Altair's batteries demonstrate "that such battery packs can sustain several cycles per day of ten minute charging and two hour discharging. Each cycle is equivalent to an electric vehicle traveling for two hours at 60 miles per hour."

So, how is this news? Altair's CEO, Alan Gotcher, has been telling us and others about the capabilities his batteries have for quite some time. AV calls the demo a "milestone," so that sounds like it means either this is the first time someone other than Altair has been able to verify Altair's claims, or it's the first time a group like CARB was on hand to see the quick charge in action. Either way, it's another step forward for these batteries and the Phoenix vehicles they're destined for.

Related:

• Berko throws cold water on Altair Nanotechnologies as an investment
• Phoenix makes $2.2 million order for Altair's NanoSafe battery packs
• AutoblogGreen Q&A: AltairNano CEO Alan Gotcher

[Source: AeroVironmental]