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The American battery producer Ener1 has signed up Hyundai Heavy Industries as a new customer for its Li-ion batteries. Hyundai in Korea will receive these Li-ion battery packs for electric buses; the packs are similar configurations as the packs currently in operation in California with AC Transit. The Hyundai contract is immediate; packs will be in buses on the road this year.
At the same time Ener1 decided to split the company into three product verticals, each with profit and loss responsibility. One of the verticals will be Transportation, which comprises light and heavy duty vehicles including buses, military and industrial, and continues to be the company’s primary market. The light duty passenger market remains a focus, but Ener1 is more aggressively pursuing higher-margin opportunities in light-duty fleet, heavy-duty buses, and military applications.
Ener1 has publicly announced three heavy duty programs, including Hyundai and AC Transit. Including all other projects Ener1 is currently installing capacity to supply up to 11,000 EV pack equivalents or 260 MWh of lithium-ion battery pack systems. Capacity could be increased to 15,000 EV pack equivalents quickly and inexpensively as customer demand dictates.