Lithium Technology Corporation (LTHUQ)

[guy6]

The Panel Report:

Edited QUOTE from Press Release:

Battery industry leader Lithium Technology Corporation ("LTC") (OTC: LTHU) is one of few companies selected by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) as a potential technology solution for its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) initiative. The findings of the Independent Expert Panel’s (IEP) investigation of advanced technologies were released this summer in the ZEV Technology Review.

To learn more about the ZEV program and Technology Review findings visit:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/zevreview/zev_panel_report.pdf

End edited QUOTE

The panel report is long but worth a scan. I have highlighted the most relevant part below.
- guy6


From the Panel Report:

E. Battery Manufacturers: Technology and Availability [starting on page 52]

This section summarizes information collected by the Panel on the development and commercialization status and plans of prospective manufacturers of the battery technologies reviewed in Sections 3.C and 3.D. The focus is on companies that were visited by Panel members or that provided key staff for off-site meetings with the Panel. The section also summarizes information received in response to the Panel’s battery questionnaires (see Appendices A and B) and through follow-up contacts with organizations not visited by the Panel. Companies are listed in alphabetical order.

[The companies considered by the panel. Each is discussed in detail.]

A123Systems
Altair Nanotechnologies
Electrovaya
Electro Energy, Inc.
GAIA
GS Yuasa
Hitachi Vehicle Energy
JCI-SAFT Power Solutions
Kokam
Matsushita Battery Industrial Co.
Litcel
NEC Lamilion Energy
Panasonic EV Energy
Sanyo Electric Co.

[We appear under GAIA.]

GAIA Accumulatorenwerke (GAIA) is a subsidiary of Lithium Technology Corp. (LTC), a publicly traded US company largely owned by a Dutch venture capital firm. GAIA’s business is Li Ion technology development and production, currently on a limited-scale for military and developing commercial applications including transportation and stationary power, in a 170,000 sq.ft. facility in Nordhausen, Germany. LTC’s business includes assembly of complete batteries from GAIA cells, R&D support for GAIA, and limited production of prismatic cells.

GAIA’s Li Ion technology uses well established cell materials and designs: NCA positive and graphite negative electrodes, conventional electrolyte compositions and standard separators. Cell construction is by spiral winding of electrodes made by a proprietary extrusion process. This process has potential to reduce production cost, simplify scale-up, and reduce environmental impact. A variety of cell types are manufactured, ranging from high power 7.5Ah cells to high energy cell designs with 120Ah and more capacity. GAIA also has developed a battery management system based on master control and “slave” modules for electric and thermal management of individual Li Ion modules. This system is produced in limited numbers and used in complete batteries supplied by GAIA/LTC. In volume production, the cost of such a system is expected to be around $2 per cell in the battery.

Cell production capacity currently is approximately 4000Ah/day, or about 4 MWh/year, corresponding for example to 200 batteries of 20kWh for a small FPBEV. Based on the expected demand of niche markets, a 10-fold scale-up will be implemented at the Nordhausen facility within a year. A production plant representing another 10-fold scale-up could be built on site within less than 2 years if justified by demand.

Experimental transportation applications of GAIA Li Ion cell technology include a 2kWh/25kW battery for a Smart-based HEV, a 8kWh (45Ah cells) battery for a small series PHEV with 50 miles electric range, a similar battery for an experimental PHEV of an automobile manufacturer, and a 25kWh/200kg battery for a BEV converted from a Daihatsu small car by Innosys, a small Dutch company. All of these batteries use air cooling, considered adequate because of the very low impedance, low heat generation and good heat dissipation of GAIA cells. The Innosys BEV has a nominal range of 250km (about155 miles), with actual ranges falling between 150-300 km (about 95-190 miles), depending on conditions and drivers. GAIA executive management foresee lifecycle cost competitiveness of volume-manufactured, Li Ion battery-powered small BEVs with conventional ICE cars in Europe.