Following the report earlier this week about Mercedes-Benz filing a lawsuit against Cobasys regarding its battery contract for the upcoming ML450 Two-Mode hybrid we contact Mercedes for a comment. Mercedes indicated in the suit that lack of funding for Cobasys from its owners (Chevron and Energy Conversion Devices) was threatening the launch of the program. Spokesperson Donna Boland replied that "court filings usually contain the worst case scenario. At this point in time, we're still planning to launch the ML450 toward the end of next year (and we'll also have the S400 hybrid)." Boland didn't respond to questions about whether Mercedes would consider (or already has) re-sourced the program. She also declined to comment on whether the company might switch to lithium batteries and simply delay the program while it was being re-engineered. In all likelihood a company with the resources of Mercedes-Benz developed a back up plan as soon as problems at Cobasys became apparent. The S400 that is debuting in 2009 does not use the Two-Mode hybrid system but instead uses a mild hybrid system developed with BMW. The mild hybrid system uses a lithium battery provided by Continental.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Plans for Mercedes to release the ML 450 hybrid in 2009 may very well be canceled. The maker of the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries that was to provide the energy storage component for the SUV, Cobasys, seems to be refusing to begin production of the essential part. It appears the company's parent firms, Chevron (who just posted a $5.98 billion 2nd quarter profit) and Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) have "pulled funding" from the battery supplier, preventing it from meeting manufacturing commitments agreed upon last year.

No stranger to accusations of conspiracy when it comes squelching green-tech batteries, Chevron is again facing the charge in a lawsuit filed last week by Mercedes that claims the company colluded with ECD and Cobasys to keep the imminent sale of the distressed battery maker a secret to prevent the German firm from canceling the battery deal. The suit also alleges that Cobasys refused to begin production in case the terms of the contract were not seen as favorable to the new owners. This situation should make for interesting reading in the months to come and, we suspect, give folks yet another reason to dislike oil companies.

[Source: Information Week]

While the issue of the nine-thousand recalled batteries from Cobasys remains a bit murky, General Motors may be inclined to just purchase the troubled battery-maker altogether. While we're not entirely sure that another money-losing operation is exactly what GM needs right about now, we can be sure that GM needs those nickel metal hydride batteries for its current range of mild hybrids. Right now, Cobasys is co-owned by Chevron and Energy Conversion Devices, though the two companies have been bickering a bit as of late regarding their joint-ownership responsibilities. It was revealed in court that some sort of offer to purchase Cobasys was being considered, which put an early end to those proceedings.

It's difficult to say what impact the purchase of Cobasys could have on future hybrid offerings from General Motors. We're certain, though, that fuel efficiency is on the minds of consumers these days, so we'd be surprised if GM didn't have big plans for the fuel-saving technology in the near future.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Click the Saturn Vue Hybrid for a high res gallery.

The other day, we found out that GM was having problems with the Cobasys batteries in the automaker's mild hybrid vehicles. The hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Vue and Saturn Aura are affected and around 9,000 batteries were recalled and replaced. At least, that's how GM explained it. According to a post over on HybridCars, Cobasys revealed that "a lot" of the information in the way GM told the battery problem story "it is not correct." According to HybridCars, the Cobasys executive "declined to elaborate further." Even so, we have our own questions in to GM and Cobasys to get their responses. Stay tuned.

[Source: HybridCars]

Click the Saturn Vue Hybrid for a high res gallery

It's no secret that General Motors' hybrid sales are nothing to brag about, especially when compared to cross-town rival Ford and, especially, cross-ocean rival Toyota. While the overall sales direction is positive, sales were most certainly negatively impacted by a problem with battery packs manufactured by Cobasys which were intended for installation in mild hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Vue and Saturn Aura. According to reports, some nine-thousand batteries had to be recalled and replaced due to an internal leak which made the entire pack inoperable. Although the vehicles themselves would still operate, the hybrid system would not.

GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson put it well when he said, "I don't know how many hybrids we could have sold, but we would have had at least 9,000 more batteries for the pipeline." There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel, though, as Cobasys claims to have resolved the problem and Chevrolet reports that production of the 2009 Malibu hybrid is on target for June 23.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

General Motors has apparently placed Cobasys on their list of distressed suppliers, a move that could be very bad news for some of GM's hybrid programs. Cobasys is the battery company jointly owned by Energy Conversion Devices and Chevron Technology Ventures. Cobasys supplies the nickel metal hydride batteries used in GM's mild hybrid system in the Saturn Aura and Vue and the Chevy Malibu. They are also one of two supplier teams with development contracts to provide lithium ion battery packs for the PHEV Saturn Vue that was shown at the Detroit Auto Show. Cobasys is doing the pack integration for cells provided by A123 systems for that program.

Apparently Cobasys lost $76 million in 2007 and expects the amount to widen to $82 million this year. ECD and Chevron are apparently at odds about funding the battery supplier and coming up with a spending plan for this year. When GM declares a supplier distressed they start watching them much more closely and the chances of a supplier on that list winning new business are slim. GM's full-size hybrid trucks, such as the Tahoe/Yukon, utilize batteries produced by Panasonic while the plug-in lithium battery programs all use multiple suppliers, so they should be ok unless another supplier stumbles. GM has not announced the name of the supplier for the Vue Two-mode hybrid that is due to launch this fall.

[Source: The Car Connection]

Phone companies may not like to actually provide service to their customers but that doesn't mean they don't have a lot of service vehicles running around. Verizon apparently has the second largest vehicle fleet in North America and in order to save enough money on fuel to hook up three more houses to their FIOS network they are retrofitting some of the vehicles with hybrid systems.

Verizon is adding a parallel hybrid system from Enova to some of their service vehicles and Cobasys is supplying the battery system. The 336V nickel metal hybrid battery pack is liquid cooled and includes all the control electronics. The system is designed to be plug and play so that drive-train developers can take an off-the-shelf energy storage system and integrate it without worrying about things like thermal management.

[Source: Cobasys]

Cobasys is working with Armor Holdings Inc. to provide their NiMH battery packs for heavy duty hybrid trucks that the latter company is developing. The hybrid trucks are being tested by the US Army at Ft. Lewis in Washington in different mission simulations to evaluate their performance.

The battery pack supplied by Cobasys is a 280 kW unit with 11 kWh of energy capacity. The full pack is assembled from four of Cobasys' existing production packs and is being used in the Army's Future Tactical Truck System. The defense department is evaluating many different alternative fuel and powertrain technologies for the vehicles and other systems because they don't want to be dependent on the people on the other side of the line for one of their primary supplies.

[Source: Cobasys]

Click on the photo for a gallery of high-res images of the Lotus EVE demonstrator

Just before the Geneva Motor Show, Lotus unveiled a new hybrid technology demonstration vehicle called EVE (efficient, viable and environmental), based on a Proton Gen2. The battery pack for EVE was supplied by nickel metal hydride battery specialist Cobasys. The pack used in the EVE car is a NiMHax 144V, 30kW unit that has integrated cooling and battery management system including software.

The Cobasys pack was designed to be plug and play for easy integration into the vehicle and includes a liquid cooling system. The integrated software is designed to optimize the charging of the individual cells to ensure maximum performance, lifespan and safety of the system. Cobasys is the supplier of battery packs for the current General Motors mild hybrid systems in the Saturn Aura and Vue and the upcoming Chevrolet Malibu. The Cobasys press release is after the jump.

[Source: Cobasys]

As part of the recent battery technology briefing at the General Motors Technical Center, the attendees were taken on a tour of the hybrid battery test lab. Our group was taken through by lab manager Doug Drauch, who gave us an overview of the activities that take place in the lab. GM has four phases of battery testing with the first phase focusing on individual cells and their performance. In phase two testing, they evaluate the performance and behavior of strings of cells tied together but not fully assembled into a pack.

In phase three, they test fully assembled battery packs, and phase four is system integration testing. The lab we went through focuses on phase two and three with some limited phase four testing. The lab that does the phase one testing is in another building on the Tech Center campus. Continue on after the jump for more on the lab tour and what goes on there.

Related:

• General Motors invites us behind the curtain: battery development..
• Editorial: Why the carmakers seem to be dragging their feet on ba...

Just a day after announcing that they would be supplying nickel metal hydride batteries for the upcoming Chevy Malibu hybrid, Cobasys is now up for sale. Cobasys is jointly owned by Energy Conversion Devices and Chevron Technology Ventures. Cobasys also has a partnership with A123 to develop lithium ion battery packs for the Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid program. The owners have hired investment bankers to examine the possibilities for sale, new investment or public offering. If Cobasys-A123 gets the production contract for the Vue PHEV or any other programs they may need significant new investment to finance new production facilities for lithium ion battery packs. Chevron shouldn't have any problem financing Cobasys, so it may just be that they actually want to take advantage of the current popularity of battery companies to cash out some of their investment. The press release is after the jump

[Source: Automotive News - subscription required]

The hybrid battery test lab at the GM Technical Center

Earlier this week, General Motors invited members of the media to their Technical Center in Warren, MI, for a briefing to talk about batteries, and show off their battery development lab. The purpose of the meeting was to provide some background on the design of lithium ion batteries, the current status of battery developments, and the hurdles that remain before bringing lithium ion batteries to market.

The session began with an introduction from GM's VP of Environment and Energy Beth Lowery. She repeated the recent mantra about the need for energy diversity, which we've been hearing from the likes of Rick Wagoner, Bob Lutz and other GM executives for the past few months. She then reviewed the time-line for General Motors hybrid vehicles, from the initial two-mode hybrid buses that have on the road since 2003 through the current mild hybrids to the light duty two-mode hybrids including the two-mode Vue hybrid later in 2008. She wrapped up with fuel-cells and E-Flex before handing off to Denise Gray.

continues after the jump

The Saturn Aura Green Line with the mild hybrid system that will be in the Malibu

Cobasys has announced that they are expanding their supply of hybrid vehicle batteries to General Motors to include the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid. The Malibu will have the same mild hybrid system that's already available in the Saturn Vue Green Line and will be in the Aura Green Line this spring. Cobasys will be supplying a 36V NiMH battery pack that will work in combination with the belt-driven alternator starter on the 2.4L four cylinder engine. The Cobasys press release is after the jump and the Malibu will be on dealer lots this fall.

[Source: Cobasys]

Energy Conversion Devices (ECD Ovonics) is certainly one of the pioneers in green technology. From batteries to solar cells, the company takes a lead role in many automotive pursuits, including converting a Prius gas engine to run on hydrogen.

Bob Stempel, former chairman of General Motors, is the boss at Ovonics and recently detailed the company's hydrogen efforts in addition to offering an update on its battery technology.

Stempel sees hydrogen as a fuel to "do something about CO2." Although he doesn't believe fuel cells are in the immediate future, cars converted to run on hydrogen will be a transition to bigger hydrogen infrastructure. The Prius that the company is testing can about 200 miles using solid hydride storage instead of high-pressure tanks. The Prius engine needs a turbocharger for added power.

With regards to battery technology, Stempel says the next generation nickel-metal hydride battery will see a 30 percent cost reduction, and possibly cut the price in half by 2010. Work also continues work on lithium-ion batteries through the Cobasys subsidiary.

[Source: Gary Witzenburg / The Car Connection]

Cobasys and A123Systems are no strangers to AutoblogGreen, but I have the feeling that we'll be hearing about these two companies a heckuva lot more in the coming years. I mean, think about the PHEV market, the EV market and whom these two firms have managed to align themselves with: GM, Enova and government agencies. Most (not all) of these partnerships, though, involve NiMH batteries and everyone knows that the near future lies in lithium-ion.

So it's not a total surprise that Cobasys and A123Systems announced yesterday that they have entered into a partnership to develop new lithium ion hybrid battery systems. The two companies will jointly "develop, manufacture, sell, and service lithium ion energy storage systems for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications. The scope of the agreement will include joint development, marketing and supply of A123Systems nanophosphate lithium batteries and Cobasys systems integration and manufacturing of battery systems for HEV markets."

Battery manufacturers are only going to become more and more important in the future, and the road to get to the ideal battery will be littered with start-ups and great ideas gone awry. Working together might just be the ticket to success.

Related:

• GM Awards two lithium-ion battery contracts for PHEV Saturn Vue
• Cobasys providing NiMH batteries for Saturn Aura hybrid
• A123Systems awarded contract to convert NYSERDA vehicles to PHEV
• Enova chooses Cobasys' NiMHax batteries for service vans

[Source: Cobasys]