The biggest cleantech stories from the last two weeks are in the
battery industry, which will continue to get hotter in coming years as
automobile manufacturers begin making more electric-powered vehicles.
U.S. battery maker A123Systems announced this week it has applied for federal funds
to support the construction of several lithium-ion battery
manufacturing facilities, beginning with one in southeast Michigan. The
company asked for $1.84 billion, under the U.S. Department of Energy's
Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program (ATVMIP).
The company wants to expand its production capacity to supply battery
systems for five million hybrid vehicles or half a million plug-in
electric vehicles per year by 2013.
Similarly, New York-based Ener1, Inc. (Nasdaq: HEV) has applied for $480 million
through the same loan program to support lithium-ion battery division,
called EnerDel. The company said it would use funds to double
manufacturing capacity at its existing Indiana plants by 2011, and
build a second larger plant capable of producing battery packs for up
to 1.2 million hybrid electric vehicles by 2015.
The main Japanese competitors to these two companies announced it would invest $1.1 billion to ramp up lithium-ion battery production through 2011. Automotive Energy Supply Corp is a joint venture between Japan's Nissan Motor Co. (Nasdaq: NSANY), and NEC Corp (NECA.BE).
Oher big news coming out of Japan concerns the acquisition of Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (6764.T) by Panasonic Corp. (6752.T).
The companies say they will use Panasonic's global sales platform and
brand recognition to expand Sanyo's battery and solar cell business.
Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corporation (6502.T) announced its full-scale entry into the solar photovoltaic systems business.
The company established a Photovoltaic Systems Division to employ its
experience in system integration, and the company said it will focus on
securing orders for large megawatt-scale installations.
In the U.S. FPL Energy, a subsidiary of the FPL Group (NYSE:FPL) has been renamed NextEra Energy Resources.
The company, which is the largest operator of wind and solar power
systems in North America, said it is changing it's name to better
reflect its focus on clean energy development.
Another major player in the U.S. solar industry, SunEdison, has secured the rights to deploy rooftop systems at more than 200 shopping centers owned by Cleveland-based Developers Diversified Realty (NYSE:DDR). SunEdison said the agreement allows for up to 259 megawatts (MW) of solar installations in 24 states.
And finally, two Chinese companies announced joint plans for a massive solar power plant in northwest China. China Technology Development Group Corporation (Nasdaq: CTDC) and Qinghai New Energy Group Co. will initially build a 30-MW power plant. However, plans call for a possible expansion of up to 1 gigawatt (GW).
