U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium awards contract to ENER1 Lithium Battery Group

06-12-2006: ENER1 Inc. announced that its EnerDel battery subsidiary has received a contract from the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), a part of the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR), an organization founded by DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors that works with the Department of Energy (DOE) to strengthen America's auto industry through cooperative development of advanced technologies.

The 12-month, cost-share contract is the first step of EnerDel's proposed three phase plan to launch a cost competitive lithium ion (Li-Ion) battery that is lighter, smaller and higher in power than existing battery technologies for hybrid electric vehicles. The company is collaborating with Argonne National Laboratory, one of the U.S. DOE's largest research centers, on the advanced materials that shall give the battery its superior characteristics. EnerDel's long-term plan includes the mass-manufacture of Li-Ion batteries in the state of Indiana using automated production technologies.