Although incorporated in April 2000, Li-ion Motors (Li-ion is short for lithium ion, the type of battery used to power electric cars) emerged in the industry after 2003, when they began to develop a "patented state-of-the-art Battery Management System (BMS)."(same source as above)
On September 16th, Li-ion was awarded the Progressive Automotive X-Prize for the Alternative Side By Side class(same source as above).
By winning the award, Li-ion was caught the attention of the automotive establishment. According to the company's website:
Automotive manufacturing giants, like Nissan and GM, have spent tens of millions of dollars on EV innovations and will still have to fine tune their technology before making it available to the public. For other manufacturers, licensing Li-ion’s technology will save them the millions of dollars, eliminate years of research and development, and will result in a state-of-the-art, fully functional, tested and proven prototype within four months of licensing.
The site also references the BP oil spill and how their technology reduces the need to consume oil.
At this point, the competitive landscape has not been changed much by this company, but I expect that, after winning the X-Prize, auto companies might consider working with Li-ion to develop an efficient electric vehicle. Electric vehicles are becoming an ever more important part of the automotive industry, and consumers can expect more electric vehicles to come on the market in the next decade. Li-ion will be part of this, giving automotive companies an easier way to produce electric vehicles by reducing the need for research and development.
In the future, this company and others like it will give auto manufacturers a less-expensive alternative to the kind of R&D that GM and Nissan did to create the Volt and Leaf, respectively.
It seems we both have selected EV companies for our blog, which is no surprise given there expected rise. I have never heard of the company but it seems as if they are developing new technologies that could be used by other automakers. I would not be surprised to see a company like this being bought by a larger auto maker to incorporate the battery technology this company seems to be developing.
ReplyDeleteI agree Chris. A car company could purchase Li-ion, especially if they continue to develop their technology.
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