Ener1 Lithium Ion Battery Prices May Halve
September 2, 2008 by admin
Charles Gassenheimer, Chief Executive over at battery maker Ener1, has announced a possible 50 percent reduction in the price of their batteries. This change in price will require a huge increase in volume. Gassenheimer says they will need to have volumes in the hundreds of thousands to achieve this price drop but silver-lines that cloud by saying, “But the important point of this here is the demand side of this equation doesn’t seem to be the problem.” He says demand is “off the charts in Europe and Asia” and expects American demand to keep increasing as well.
Ener1 this month acquired the stake of EnerDel it did not already own from bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. Ener1 is looking for a new joint venture partner, Gassenheimer said, though he was happy to wait until the right partner comes along.
Ener1, who already make batteries for plug-in Priuses and have a $70 million supply deal with Th!nk, are pressing to reach this kind of output and are chatting up as many as twenty-four different auto makers. Of those, two may soon ink development contracts which could, because of the size of these companies, lead to Ener1 actually becoming cash flow positive in 2010. If they can achieve their cost-reduction goals, the pay-back period for all-electric cars may be reached in as little as two years instead of the current 7 or 8 if the price of oil stays around $100 a barrel.
This could be a critical tipping point as the three year lease is the most popular choice amongst american automobile purchasers.
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