A123 may soon produce smaller 12V modules

[arkmundi]

A123 Shifts Away From EV Battery Packs In US

A123′s parent company, Wanxiang Group, also owns the now defunct electric carmaker Fisker. Under its newly named Elux brand, the company wants to revive the all-electric Karma and will need large battery packs.

Interesting that WG is also bringing the Fisker out of bankruptcy. For the moment, however...

Battery maker A123 Systems has announced it will be moving away from producing lithium ion batteries for U.S. market electric cars.

Instead, said CEO Jason Forcier, the company’s automotive efforts will concentrate on more commonplace and potentially profitable batteries for starter batteries and so-called microhybrids.

“We won’t spend too much effort on the EV markets in Europe or the U.S., because we don’t see them as viable markets in the next 10 years,” Forcier said..

Meaning..

The next core product will be small lithium-ion batteries for the U.S. market. By 2017 or 2018, A123 wants to begin building 12-volt batteries for microhybrids. With start/stop systems and storage only for regenerative braking, microhybrid batteries are smaller

Which in my mind is perfect for the LEV & eBike hobbyist market. 12-volt is a a great form factor as it can easily be made into 36 & 48 volt packs. Expect the new 14ah prismatic form factor is for that. Seems that A123 is doing good.

 

[wb9k]

A123 has been increasingly focused on starter batteries since the bankruptcy. We are delivering modules to industrial-grade HV customers in North America, but almost all of our passenger car business is in China and will remain so for some time. This is where passenger-level EV's are going to do the most growing and selling in the coming decade. I think Jason is pretty clear (and unfortunately correct) that full EV's are not going to be much of a money maker in the US for at least another decade. Mild hybrids are getting bigger, and one hopes PHEV's will take large market share soon as well. Look for systems in the next few years that use 48 Volt batteries instead of 12 Volts. This enables fuller start/stop functionality and enables reduced wire size in harnessing, all while still falling under the guise of "low voltage". A123 is well-positioned in this sector, I think. The electronics in a starter battery are way more complex than you probably suspect...everyone is surprised at all the potential pitfalls once they see them.

The latest word on the Karma is that it will be built in Michigan this time around, which is kind of cool. Site is yet unnamed. Time will tell.

 

[arkmundi]

Cheap Batteries Under the Hood Add Power to Cut Fuel Consumption by Ehren Goossens, Bloomberg, March 24, 2015

Next-generation hybrid cars combining electric and gas power in new ways are emerging as a low-cost alternative for consumers as batteries get cheaper and more efficient... microhybrid systems featuring small battery-fed components that switch engines off and on at stoplights... Battery packs for electric vehicles, loaded with lithium- ion cells, now cost around $496 a kilowatt-hour, a 60 percent drop from 2010. That could plunge to $175 within five years, according to Sam Jaffe, an industry analyst with Navigant Consulting Inc.

... In January, Johnson Controls and Toshiba Corp. unveiled a shoebox-sized system at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit that throws a charge into the battery each time the brakes are hit... The new systems are emerging just as the auto industry faces a U.S. goal of 54.5 miles per gallon on average by 2025. Along with Johnson Controls and Toshiba, their development promises to benefit battery makers that include A123 Systems LLC, BYD Co. and Panasonic Corp.

... Higher-volume manufacturing, increased storage capacity and rising sales are all helping bring down battery prices, Morgan Stanley said in a report in July. Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors Inc. is a driving force in this trend, as he develops a $5 billion battery “gigafactory” that may push costs below $100 a kilowatt-hour within 10 years.

... Panasonic expects manufacturing volumes and demand to rapidly pick up for its batteries, starting in about 2018. The Japanese electronics company makes the batteries used in Tesla’s Model S and is a partner on the gigafactory under construction near Reno, Nevada.

Navigant Consulting is a very capable market research organization. They're indicating 2018 as the time when these various trends play out to reduce the cost of lithium-ion batteries. That means a 48V 20ah battery pack (~1 kwh) for less that $200. This is an exciting trend. A123 needs to stomp on the accelerator.
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/cont...utions/products/lithium-ion/micro-hybrid.html

To reiterate that: Lithium-ion, 48 volt, Integral BMS/switch/fuse, Passive cooling, DC/DC device bridges, Small size, Simple electrical connections with reverse polarity protection, Standard CAN interface to vehicle for battery monitoring, switch control and diagnostics. Sounds ready made to serve as the perfect eBike battery.