Enerdel's announcement of a big investment to make more lithium-ion batteries in Indiana – $237 million for the company's third site in the state – gave Governor Mitch Daniels a chance to explain how his state can go through the same transformation on the advanced powertrain front that he himself has. "I've always been an internal combustion guy," he said, "but I have been converted in every way to electric vehicles. They drive great, by the way." The Governor was also confident that, "Indiana can be the capitol of this new industry."
Yes, the city that is home to the Indianapolis 500 is getting a lot of plug-in vehicle attention. On top of EnerDel's announcement yesterday, partner Think announced an expansion in nearby Elkhart, IN recently. Bright Automotive and AltairNano are also located not too far away. What is EnerDel's expansion all about? We were part of a media tour of the company's facility in Fishers, IN (right next door to Indianapolis) to learn about how lithium battery packs for plug-in vehicles are made. Follow us past the jump to find out what happens there.
Here are a few terms that EnerDel uses to describe their batteries (some of the terms can be used to talk about other advanced battery cells in the automotive industry, too):
* Cell – the smallest unit of the batteries that EnerDel makes. These are layers of anodes, cathodes and separators sealed with an electrolyte in a pouch.
* Module – a collection of cells wired together with communication protocols and thermisters (basically, there are wires that check on each cell to make sure it working and not getting too hot).
* Sub-pack – a wired box that contains two modules
* Pack – the final battery, the dimensions of which depends on the vehicle it's going into.
In the Think City, for example, the pack uses eight sub-packs, which in this case is 16 modules and approximately 400 cells. This provides 350V and 70 amp hours, and a total rating of 24.5 kWh. The Think City pack is simple and square, but that's only because the car was designed to be purely electric and the shape works well there. For the Volvo C30 Electric, the pack is made up not only of a long rectangle that fits down the center of the vehicle, but also a secondary pack that sits just in front of the rear wheels. You can see both, and the cord that connects them, in the picture below.
As we know, battery performance is greatly affected by temperatures. For the Think City, EnerDel discovered that they did not need to use the heating option to warm the batteries and that the packs would perform as expected down to around -10º Celsius. The pack is also good on the hot end of the spectrum until around 55º C. Basically, if a person is comfortable, then a lithium battery is comfortable. For colder climates, there are other options.
What's unusual about the EnerDel facility is that they coat their own anodes and cathodes there, and so can take the raw materials and produce entire packs in house. Sort of. There are eight to 10 "key suppliers" and a couple dozen more standard part suppliers that provide some of the pieces that Enerdel doesn't make themselves. The chemical slurry, coating the anodes and cathodes and putting the cells together into packs? That's all EnerDel.
Once the pack is in the car, a battery management system (BMS) is used to coordinate performance with energy supply and to potentially relay that information outside the vehicle. We know that General Motors plans to use OnStar with the Chevrolet Volt. EnerDel discusses the pack's communication ability with each automaker that it deals with individually, so there's no standard way that every pack tells every vehicle (or the OEM, or EnerDel) how it's being used.
The BMS is also responsible for the battery's safety features, which include shutting down in the event of a crash. The BMS can get data from the vehicle's crash sensors and, in the event of a collision, shut down the energy flowing out of the pack so that there's zero danger (we were told) of occupants or anyone else being electrocuted.
All in all, Ener1 CEO Charles Gassenheimer (right) led the media day with an air of confidence and hope. Expanding the company's manufacturing ability in the American heartland is not a Democratic or Republican issue, he said. Instead, he called it good business, a move that means his company is poised to take advantage of what he (and many others) expect will be a huge growth in vehicle electrification in the coming years. All those plug-in vehicles will need packs, and that means more packs need to be build. To put just 100,000 electric cars on the road would take all the 18650 cell (common laptop battery) capacity available today, he said. Tesla Motors uses these packs for the Roaster, but most automakers are looking at using large-format packs, like the ones that EnerDel makes, for their plug-in vehicles. If the auto industry as a whole meets Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn's 10 percent plug-in mark by 2020, Gassenheimer said it would mean that lithium batteries for cars will be a $70 billion industry in ten years. This could explain why Gassenheimer smiles a lot when talking about his company's future.
EnerDel is not solely focused on cars, with projects for grid-connected stationary batteries (i.e., in Portland, OR and Tokyo, Japan). Gassenheimer said that these developments and the secondary markets they create for large-format batteries are the best way to bring vehicle battery costs down. The take-away point is that economies of scale will only get you so far. There's a lot of value to these packs that don't involve moving cars down the road.
PRESS RELEASE
EnerDel Plans to Invest $237 Million in New Indiana Lithium-Ion Battery Plant, Creating 1,400 New Clean Tech Jobs
State and Local Economic Development Incentives Total $69.9 Million
INDIANAPOLIS (January 21, 2010) ¨Lithium-ion battery manufacturer EnerDel announced today it will invest $237 million in a new manufacturing plant near its Indianapolis headquarters in order to meet anticipated demand for advanced battery systems used in both automotive and stationary smart grid applications. Backed by a mix of private funds and public incentives, the new facilities will more than double EnerDel's U.S. production capacity and create 1,400 new jobs.
The announcement came during a special unveiling at the EnerDel facility of the new EnerDel powered C30 electric vehicle platform for Volvo Cars, the best selling platform within Volvo. The unveiling was to commemorate 18 months of collaboration between the two companies, with EnerDel and Volvo management outlining the C30 ¡s imminent path to commercialization to gathered media and investors. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels joined EnerDel and Volvo executives for the event.
State and local economic development incentives are valued at $69.9 million, which comprises a state incentive package of $21.3 million and Hancock County package valued at $48.6 million. EnerDel has also applied for an additional $9 million from Federal Government development programs.
"Demand for high-performance lithium-ion battery systems is expanding dramatically, for vehicles of all sizes as well as the utility grid, and we are going to be fully prepared to meet it with a product stamped Made in America" said Charles Gassenheimer, Chairman and CEO of EnerDel parent company Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEV).
The new plant will give EnerDel the capacity to produce battery packs for approximately 600,000 hybrid electric vehicles, or 60,000 battery electric cars. It will be financed through a $118.5 million grant awarded under the federal stimulus package under a 50:50 cost-share program, of which EnerDel plans to spend $60 million in 2010. The project represents just the first stage of the company's expansion plans in the Indianapolis area.
"We're out to be the capital of the electric vehicle industry and EnerDel is at the center of those hopes," said Governor Daniels.
As demand for electric drivetrain technology grows, Indiana is emerging as the industry's central player. And a location affording easy access to both domestic and transplant car manufacturers in the U.S. is seen as a critical advantage for EnerDel.
"Indiana is fast becoming the Silicon Valley of the 21st Century auto industry," Gassenheimer said. "We're here because of the talent, the automotive industry experience and the remarkable network of electric drivetrain companies that call this state home. This immediately follows our electric vehicle partner THINK's announcement to establish their U.S. manufacturing facility here, in Indiana."
EnerDel will immediately begin to occupy more than 211,500 square feet of newly-constructed space in the Axcess70 industrial park in Mt. Comfort, Indiana, with a two year option to purchase the entire facility which is comprised of 423,000 square feet. The company is currently in the process of hiring new engineers, production associates and other staff as build-out progresses. Axcess 70 is a 153 acre industrial and distribution park developed by a joint venture between Browning Investments, Inc. and Real Estate Capital Partners and consists of two speculative buildings located just north of the I-70/Mt. Comfort Interchange, which is currently being expanded.
EnerDel has commercial and strategic partnerships with industry leading companies including Volvo, THINK, Nissan and Mazda, and is supplying batteries for a prototype hybrid version of the Humvee being tested by the U.S. Army. EnerDel batteries have recently been chosen for smart grid projects in the U.S. and Japan.
The company also has an ongoing application for a long-term, low-interest loan under the federal Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program, which was created under the 2007 Energy and Security Independence Act 2007 to help U.S. automakers and their suppliers meet stronger fuel economy performance standards.
About EnerDel:
EnerDel, a subsidiary of Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV), develops and manufactures compact, high performance lithium-ion batteries to power the next generation of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles. Led by an experienced team of engineers and energy system experts, the company is building proprietary innovations based on technology originally pioneered at the Argonne National Laboratory.
EnerDel produces its batteries at its state-of-the-art facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expecting to be the first company to mass-produce a cost-competitive lithium-ion battery for hybrid and electric vehicles. In addition to the automobile market, applications for EnerDel lithium-ion battery technology include medical, military, aerospace, electric utility and other growing markets.
