Nov 11, 2010 Li-ion related news

Daimler CEO: Electric Cars Are Overhyped By CHRISTOPH RAUWALD FRANKFURT

—Daimler AG Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said Thursday that expectations for the development of electric cars are over-optimistic and predicted returns for companies will be small. View Full Image
Bloomberg News Dieter Zetsche, chief executive officer of Daimler AG."In 10 years' time, the overall market share of electric cars is likely to be still in the single-digit percentage range," Mr. Zetsche said during a Daimler event in Stuttgart, according to a prepared statement. "In principle it's similar to [U.S.] President [Barack] Obama—first, expectations are being raised externally and then people are surprised they don't get fulfilled. From today's perspective it's already clear [that] we won't earn high returns with electric cars in the years to come. And that's the optimistic wording."Mr. Zetsche added, however, that major investments in research and development are needed now to be competitive in 10 years because "in the long run there's no alternative to electric driving." He said Daimler is "fully on track" to produce its first electric cars from 2012 with annual production volumes in "the five-digit" range. Daimler presented an electric version of its Mercedes-Benz A-Class vehicle at the Paris motor show in October. Global auto makers are investing heavily in electric vehicles and zero-emission driving to comply with tightening emission regulations world-wide. But several technical obstacles, mainly relating to the battery, persist and the costs for electric vehicles remain high.

Electric Cars Shift Industry's Marketing LandscapeTOKYO (Nikkei)

--With the domestic car market projected to shrink over time, one trend could significantly change how and where cars are sold: the rise of gasoline-electric-hybrids and all-electric vehicles.
Nissan's all-electric Leaf will transmit data on battery status and other information to a data center, which will enhance the carmaker's service and marketing.Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (7211) announced on Tuesday a partnership with home appliance retailer Bic Camera Inc. (3048) to promote its i-MiEV electric car. Some Bic Camera stores will display the model, which the carmaker hopes will draw a wider range of people to its dealerships.The same day, at Bic Camera's Yurakucho store in central Tokyo, Mitsubishi Motors President Osamu Masuko said more and more electric vehicles will be sold through home appliance retailers.Bic Camera, for its part, hopes to promote electric cars like any other home appliance, said the retailer's president, Hiroyuki Miyajima.Mitsubishi Motors is also exploring tie-ups with two other home appliance retailers, Yamada Denki Co. (9831) and Best Buy Co. of the U.S. For the time being, home appliance stores will not sell cars on their own. Shoppers who like the cars will be pointed in the dealers' direction. But Yamada Denki, which has a subsidiary that sells used cars, is considering selling the i-MiEV on its own.Data nodesElectric cars can be monitored more closely by automakers because they will be connected to the power grid. The growing number of such cars will allow manufacturers to learn more about their customers, and hopefully get them into dealerships more often.Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), which plans to release a plug-in hybrid model in 2012, also aims to put to practical use a "smart home" control system that can manage electricity for electric cars, as well as appliances such as air conditioners.The system, which will gather data on electricity consumption by those devices, is expected to be part of the Toyota group's "smart grid" project that aims to make electricity transmission more efficient.Toyota's nationwide network of about 4,800 dealerships will also offer new services, such as battery recharging, said President Akio Toyoda.Nissan Motor Co. (7201), which will introduce the Leaf electric car in December, will install two 200-volt two-speed chargers at each of its roughly 2,200 dealerships nationwide. The location of the dealers will be displayed on the Leaf's navigation system to help drivers keep their cars juiced up.The carmaker will use battery status and other data collected from Leaf drivers to give it clues about how to market the cars, as well the types of services that are in demand, said Takao Katagiri, Nissan's senior vice president for marketing and sales in Japan.

Solar Cell Shipments Double On FITs, School New DealTOKYO (Nikkei)

--Domestic photovoltaic battery shipments rose 110% on the year to 467,941 kilowatts in terms of power generating capacity in the April-September half, the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association said Thursday.In November 2009, the government introduced feed-in tariffs, under which utility companies buy, at premium unit prices, excess electricity generated by households using solar cells.That has helped those who installed solar cells halve the period needed to recoup their initial investment costs to about 10 years. As such, the domestic solar cell market has expanded exponentially.In the fiscal 2010 first half, shipments for households, which account for 80% of the overall domestic market, grew 90%.Shipments for the public and industrial sectors surged 520%, due to the "school new deal" policy in which the government subsidizes schools installing solar cells.

Toyota To Introduce All-Electric Car In JapanTOKYO (Nikkei)

--Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) will in 2012 start marketing an all-electric car in Japan based on its iQ subcompact car. Toyota's electric car will be based on iQ.Japan's top carmaker, which had already unveiled a plan to introduce the electric car in 2012 in the U.S. and elsewhere, apparently added Japan to the list to better compete with rivals Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (7211) and Nissan Motor Co. (7201), which are taking the lead in this segment.Toyota aims for the electric vehicle to be capable of traveling 100km or more on a single charge. The new green car will be sold at about 4,800 Toyota dealerships across Japan.Toyota intends to meet customer demand for short distance rides in urban areas where battery charging systems will be well established.

Credit Agricole Cuts A123 (AONE) from Outperform to Underperform
November 10, 2010 11:29 AM EST

Shares of A123 Systems (Nasdaq: AONE) are getting whacked this morning following disappointing Q3 results from the company last night. The stock last traded at $8.86, down 10.9% from yesterday's closing price.
While analysts seem rather-quiet on the quarterly report today, an analyst at Credit Agricole made a convicted Sell call earlier. The analyst downgraded shares of A123 from Outperform to Underperform and also reduced the stock's price target from $12 to $10.
Despite the Underperform rating, Credit Agricole's new price target actually represents potential upside of almost 13% from where the stock is trading today.

UPDATE 1-EnerSys Q2 results beat Street, sees Q3 above viewTue, Nov 9 2010Nov 9 (Reuters)

- EnerSys's (ENS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) quarterly results beat Wall Street estimates, helped by a jump in sales in the Americas and Europe segments, and the industrial battery maker forecast third quarter earnings above analyst estimates. The company said it sees third-quarter adjusted earnings of 59-63 cents a share, compared with analysts' expectations of 56 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S."Our recent rate of incoming orders continues to show improvement and bodes well for future quarters. In addition, our cost savings programs will continue providing earnings benefits," Chief Executive John Craig said in a statement.For the July-September quarter, the company earned $26.6 million, or 53 cents a share, compared with $12.9 million, or 26 cents a share, a year ago.Excluding restructuring and acquisition-related expenses, the company earned 58 cents a share.Revenue for the company, whose peers include A123 Systems Inc (AONE.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Ener1 Inc (HEV.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Exide Technologies (XIDE.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), jumped 29 percent to $472.8 million.Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 51 cents a share on revenue of $446.9 million.Sales in the company's Americas segment rose 34 percent to $221.1 million, while its European sales rose by 23 percent to $207.4 million.Shares of the Reading, Pennsylvania-based company closed at $27.75 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has gained about 17 percent since August 11, when it reported first-quarter results. (Reporting by Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore; Editing by Prem Udayabhanu)

Dowa Eco-System Commercializes Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Business

Global Round Up - StocksNovember 10, 2010Dowa Eco-System Co., Ltd. (14-1 Sotokanda 4-Chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Capital: YEN1,000 million; President: Yoshito Koga), a subsidiary of Dowa Holdings Co., Ltd. (same location; Capital: YEN36,400 million; President: Masao Yamada), commercializes lithium-ion battery recycling business at its existing facilities. The new business will recycle the scraps produced from the lithium-ion battery manufacturing process as well as used batteries.In addition to their use in mobile phones and home appliances such as personal computers, lithium-ion batteries have rapidly begun to find application in automobiles and other industries. With continued increases in production expected in the future, there is a need to recycle the rare metals contained in lithium-ion batteries, including cobalt, nickel and lithium, even from the perspectives of recycling resources and securing raw materials. Moreover, with the content of expensive metals such as cobalt falling with advancements that have made batteries lighter and cheaper to produce, there is a growing need for appropriate, low-cost recycling solutions. Dowa Eco-System Co., Ltd. recycles metals by collecting the scraps that manufacturers generate in the production process, from the manufacturing of materials for lithium-ion batteries to the production of finished products, as well as by recovering used batteries. High-purity cobalt is recovered from cathode material scrap and recycled as battery cathode raw materials. Utilizing existing facilities such as Dowa's industrial waste intermediate treatment plants, each year over 1,000 tons of used lithium-ion batteries can be received, treated, separated and turned into raw materials for smelting. Further, in the recovery of lithium-ion batteries, Dowa uses the collection and transportation network it has built to enable the efficient collection of shipments. The Dowa Group aims to leverage its strengths in existing businesses, and will respond to rising use of lithium-ion batteries by developing optimum recycling methods that meet the needs of its customers. Dowa Eco-System Co., Ltd. has also developed a technology to refine high-purity lithium from lithium-ion batteries, and is studying the possibility of supplying lithium as a raw material for lithium batteries. Dowa Eco-System will continue to develop its environmental management and recycling business by addressing a wide range of needs of society and its customers, as it aims to become the No. 1 environmental management and recycling company in Japan and across Asia.

Bosch, SDI Venture to Raise South Korea Cell CapacityNovember 10, 2010, 12:43 AM EST(Updates with executive’s comments in fourth paragraph.)Nov. 10 (Bloomberg)

-- SB LiMotive Co., a venture between Samsung SDI Co. and Robert Bosch GmbH, aims to make lithium-ion cells at a plant in Ulsan, South Korea, for use in 180,000 electric cars annually by 2015 to meet demand for the vehicles.Bosch and Samsung SDI today opened the factory in Ulsan, southeast of Seoul, which will start mass production of the cells early next year, SB LiMotive said in an e-mailed statement. The companies said they will jointly invest about $500 million in the venture by 2013.Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are among carmakers spending billions of dollars to speed development of autos that use less or no petroleum to curb greenhouse gases, spurring investment in the electric and hybrid-car battery business. Plug-in cars such as Nissan’s Leaf model and General Motors’ Volt could make up 9 percent of U.S. auto sales by 2020 and 22 percent in 2030, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said last month.SB LiMotive will supply lithium-ion battery packs to Chrysler Group LLC as well as cells to Bayerische Motoren Werke AG from 2012, Lee Jin Gun, the venture’s chief executive officer, said in Ulsan today at the opening of the new plant.Shares AdvanceSamsung SDI, which Information Technology estimates may become the world’s biggest maker of lithium-ion batteries this year, rose 0.9 percent to 160,500 won as of 1:27 p.m. in Seoul trading. The company, based in Yongin, South Korea, has gained 8.1 percent this year.Stuttgart, Germany-based Bosch, the world’s largest auto- parts maker, formed the venture with Samsung SDI in 2008 to produce batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles. The venture was set up in South Korea and began production in 2010.SB LiMotive is currently in talks with other carmakers from Europe, the U.S. and Asia, Samsung SDI CEO Choi Chi Hun said today at the factory opening without elaborating.

Thunder Sky Battery to net MVP RV for e-vehicle plant in HK

Thunder Sky Battery Ltd<0729>, a lithium-ion battery producer, is scheduled to team up with the U.S.-based MVP RV Inc to spend approximate HK$10 billion in total to build an electric-vehicle plant in Hong Kong next year. According to Zhong Xin Jia, vice president of the listed firm, at the 25th World Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition Symposium and Exhibition held in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, Thunder Sky Battery will have a rapid business growth in the next ten years, but he did not disclose the details of the new plant. MVP RV's website shows that the firm is located in southern California and mainly manufactures travel trailers, toy haulers and fifth-wheel trailers. Thunder Sky Battery's competitive ability is the huge capacity of up to 10,000 ampere hours in lithium-ion batteries, which need only 20 minutes to be charged up, Zhong added. In addition, the Hong Kong-listed company is in talks with potential partners to enter the public e-vehicle market in Shenzhen, in which the local government hopes to have 4,000 electrical buses and 6,000 electrical taxies by the end of 2011.

Honda, Long Skeptical on Battery EVs, Does an About-Face

Honda (HMC), whose global business is looking robust despite the strong yen, is taking the plunge into electric cars for the U.S. market. Honda has been one of the last holdouts against battery cars, preferring to field hybrids and, for the longer term, fuel-cell electrics.What’s happened, obviously, is a worldwide rollout of EVs that threatens to leave Honda behind. There are very few automakers today without a plug-in strategy. But Honda is in a very good position, even if it is late to the EV market. The company has a long history of delivering almost eerily flawless fuel-sipping cars to American consumers, so it has a considerable amount of goodwill to bank on as it fields an EV. Plus it has dealers and an advertising budget that should move some cars.Former Honda CEO Takeo Fukui was a skeptic about battery EVs, but successor Takanobu Ito, who took office in 2009, is bullish. He told Reuters, “It’s starting to look like there will be a market for electric vehicles. We can’t keep shooting down their potential, and we can’t say there’s no business case for it.”Ito also offered what has become a truism among companies with battery EVs: Despite the fear of “range anxiety,” not everybody needs 300 miles between plug ins or fill-ups. And although Honda is showing both a plug-in hybrid and a battery-only electric commuter car in Los Angeles next week, he seems to have taken a stand on the technology. “Plug-in hybrids are essentially for people who drive short distances, but it has the handicap of having an engine, a motor and a stack of batteries,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you just drive a [battery] EV?”Honda says it will commercialize both a battery car and a plug-in hybrid for the U.S. market in 2012. I expect that it will follow Toyota’s lead and adapt the Civic Hybrid to plug-in status. Further, it’s coalescing around the lithium-ion battery technology basic to EVs, and will use li-ion in the next generation Honda Civic Hybrid, also planned for release in 2011 as a 2012 model. Honda’s has a joint-venture partnership with GS Yuasa in the li-ion company Blue Energy.It’s late 2010, so Honda will have to play catch-up with the rest of the industry, but it’s doing exactly that. According to Honda U.S. spokesman Chris Naughton, the company will bring its first EVs to the U.S. late this year for demonstration programs at Stanford University, Google and the City of Torrance, California. Torrance will get a plug-in hybrid for evaluation by the end of 2010, which is really quick for a car nobody’s actually seen (but will see in Los Angeles next week).“This is consistent with our strategy of the last few decades, considering the whole range of powertrains,” Naughton said. “We have the natural gas Civic, diesels in Europe, and the FCX Clarity hydrogen car, as well as an EV history with the first U.S. hybrid in the 1999 70-mpg Insight and the [EV-1 competitor] Honda EVPlus [pictured at top'].”Naughton pointed out that the FCX Clarity, one of the more sophisticated fuel-cell vehicles with 300-mile range, is actually an electric car with hydrogen replacing a battery pack. “We’re building an ever-growing knowledge base of running cars with electricity, whether fuel cell and doing it in a way that is smooth and seamless to the driver.”And that, of course, speaks to Honda’s natural advantage in the EV space, even as a latecomer with no history of battery cars. I’d buy a Honda plug-in hybrid, wouldn’t you? After all, I already own a Honda Fit, and would love to get my hands on the hybrid version that the company is rolling out everywhere but North America.Honda is also in a strong position to bankroll EV programs, having reported a $2 billion global profit in the third quarter (up 150 percent from the year before). U.S. sales were down because of the strong yen, but Asia is very strong. On balance, the company recently lowered its projections for world sales this year by 25,000 to 3.6 million cars. The cuts are in Europe and North America; Asian forecasts are up.

Mitsui Engineering-Shipbuilding logs first orders for hybrid container cranesby Eric Loveday
Container cranes at the Port of Seattle
Container cranes, like the massive units pictured above, transfer cargo from ships to the docks. The sheer size of such units, at least when viewed in person, negates any thought that one of these behemoths could accomplish such heavy-lifting tasks with power supplied by a lithium-ion battery pack. Well, it's time to strike that thought because Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co. (MES) has now proven that hybrid container cranes, packing massive li-ion power packs, are more than capable of hauling the heaviest of loads. The Nikkei states that MES' hybrid cranes are:Designed with large lithium-ion battery packs that store electricity generated every time a load is lowered by the crane and supply that electricity to a motor that provides supplemental power to move the crane. This reduces the need to run the engine, which in turn helps reduce the crane's carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent.MES logged a four-unit order for its newly developed hybrid container cranes and will begin production immediately. Once complete, the cranes will find a resting place at two harbor-operation companies: one located in Tokyo, and the other in the Japanese city of Kobe. The units should be installed by May of 2011 and cost 150 million yen ($1.86 million U.S. at the current exchange rate) a piece.

Altair Nanotechnologies Reports Third Quarter 2010 Financial ResultsRENO, NV, Nov 04, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX)

-- Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. (Altairnano) /quotes/comstock/15*!alti/quotes/nls/alti (ALTI 0.64, -0.02, -2.80%) , a provider of advanced lithium-ion battery technologies and systems, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010. "In the third quarter we took a major step forward in securing our financial future. In September, we entered into a Share Subscription Agreement with Canon Investment Holdings whereby they will invest $48.9 million into the company in return for a controlling interest. We also signed a concurrent supply and license agreement with Zhuhai Yintong Energy Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Canon, that provides access to the vast Chinese market," said Dr. Terry Copeland, Altairnano's president and CEO. "We are excited about the potential that the Canon and YTE relationship creates for both of our companies." Recent Highlights

-- On September 20, 2010 we signed a Share Subscription Agreement and related documents with Canon Investment Holdings Ltd. whereby Canon has agreed to purchase newly issued shares of the Company's common stock providing the Company with $48.9M in capital. Upon closing, Canon will have a 51% ownership stake in the Company calculated on a fully diluted basis.
-- On September 20, 2010 we signed a purchase and license agreement with Zhuhai Yintong Energy Co. Ltd. (YTE) pursuant to which YTE has agreed to purchase $6.6 million of product before the end of 2011. On November 1, 2010, YTE placed a purchase order for the first $2.2 million of this contract and accelerated its delivery into the fourth quarter of this year.
-- As a result of the Canon investment the At the Market financing vehicle with Thomas Weisel Partners was suspended.
-- We began delivering battery modules under the long-term Proterra contract announced in our Q2 earnings release.
-- We introduced an Altairnano battery applications kit that will enable prospective customers to experiment with our battery for use and applicability in their specific development efforts.
-- Our Board of Directors made the decision to remain a Canadian corporation and not change our domestication to the State of Nevada.
-- Our Board of Directors made the decision to execute a 4:1 reverse stock split at the close of business on November 15, 2010.

Financial Highlights for third quarter 2010 compared to third quarter 2009
-- Revenue of $2.0 million compared to $1.7 million.
-- Gross margin of $0.5 million compared to $1.1 million.
-- Operating expenses of $5.8 million compared to $5.3 million.
-- Net loss of $5.3 million compared to $3.3 million.
-- Net cash burn of $0.7 million compared to $4.8 million.

SK committed to boosting Korea’s national competitiveness in core industries

SK Group, a leading player in the global energy and telecommunication industry, has contributed to the growth and advancement of Korea by strengthening the nation’s key industries.
Having started its business as a textile factory, SK has come along with the growth of the Korean economy by committing to the national economic development focusing its ability on a variable and wide range. The group’s business encompasses basic industries like energy and textile as well as next generation core business sectors including cutting-edge telecommunication.
SK started exporting fiber in 1958 for the first time as a Korean firm and became the first producer of basic polyester thread in Korea. In 1973, it established Sunkyung Petroleum, making the foundation of the horizontal systemization from petroleum to fiber. In 1980, it formed a full scale of basis by taking over the privatized Korean Petroleum Public Corporation. As a result, in early 1990s, it could complete a specialized horizontal systemization from petroleum to fiber by finishing a large petro-chemistry plan.
Also from 1983, SK started to develop overseas oil fields for a stable domestic crude oil supply. It participated in petroleum development projects in 24 oil fields in 14 countries around the world and to realize the dream of making Korea an oil producing country.
It was in the mid-1980s that SK began pioneering the telecommunication sector, widening its business range. The group formed a basis of general information communications business by breaking into the information communication with the 10-year long-term view.
SK Group made Korea one of the leading countries in information communication in 1996 by succeeding in the commercialization of digital mobile phones using the code division multiple access method for the first time in the world.
After 2000s, SK began leading the digital convergence era by offering a variety of services including wireless internet. In 2004, it succeeded in launching the digital mobile broadcasting satellite, which came to commercialize a multimedia service using satellite.
SK in 2006 devoted itself to revitalizing the local mobile phone market by introducing 3.5 generation mobile phones. It also started providing consumers with a more advance service by constructing a nationwide high-speed downlink packet access network in the first half year of 2007. The HSDPA refers to an enhanced third-generation mobile telephony communications protocol.
SK is still seeking to further increase the national competitiveness of Korea with innovative, new values, despite the accomplishments it has achieved so far in developing the national basic industries such as energy and chemistry and cutting-edge information communication sector.
The group plans to strengthen major capabilities that it already possesses while moving forward with new, related businesses in the energy and chemistry sector which SK has been playing a role as an engine behind national economic growth.
Particularly as an energy industry leader SK plan to accelerate businesses on the development and exploration of oil fields focusing on strategic regions. It will also continue committing to supplying stable and economical energy locally while putting more increasing efforts to developing alternative energy sources.
SK strongly supports “low carbon, green growth,” a vision and goal which is projected to be crucial for building a sustainable future in a post-oil era.
In 2004, SK became Korea’s first and the world’s third developer of lithium-ion batteries, a key component in secondary batteries that power electric cars. Against this backdrop, SK is now gearing up for commercial production of secondary batteries, and the company has been chosen as a lithium-ion battery supplier for Germany’s Daimler-Chrysler and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group.
Moreover, SK is actively preparing to commercialize green technologies, including green pol (eco-friendly plastic made of industrially emitted carbon dioxide) and green coal (clean energy derived from low-rank coal).
Since the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, SK adopted a global and sustainable approach to three areas of business: new energy sources, smart environments and innovative technology. In order to secure growth engines for the future, the company announced its plans to invest a total of 17.5 trillion won by the year of 2020.

US: Tesla reports Q3 loss

Electric sportscar maker Tesla has reported a third-quarter loss of US$34.9m compared with a loss of US$4.6m in the same period last year when the company was still privately held.Sales totalled US$31.2m, down from US$45.5m in the third quarter a year ago.Chief executive office Elon Musk said, however, that the company is pushing ahead with plans to “spend heavily” over the next nine quarters to get the Model S sedan into production.He told Bloomberg News: “Attaining quarterly profitability isn’t a goal. We’re very focused on long-term profitability.”Tesla, based in Palo Alto, California, intends to become the auto industry’s leader in battery-powered cars, aided by supply agreements with Toyota and Daimler.The company is refurbishing a the former Toyota-General Motors joint-venture factory in Fremont, California, which is scheduled to begin making the US$57,400 Model S by mid-2012.