Ener1 CEO and Chairman Charles Gassenheimer certainly isn't afraid to talk up the li-ion battery work that battery subsidiary EnerDel is doing. It looks like the U.S. federal government is also willing to get behind the lithium-ion research going on in Indianapolis. The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded EnerDel a $4 million research and development contract for work that should:

• create lightweight, high-performance battery solutions for real-time tracking of vital military assets in harsh climates, and
• create high-energy batteries to power miniature unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), increasingly critical to battlefield troops.

Just think, your Th!nk could be powered by the same battery that flies around and kills people, although perhaps not - does an EV need a "severe-duty" battery? Probably not. More details after the jump.

[Source: EnerDel]

click to enlarge

Ener1 has been in the news quite a bit these last few weeks, and new CEO (and former and current Chairman) Charles Gassenheimer thought it prudent to write a letter to shareholders about the current status of the company and the future of li-ion batteries in the automotive market. Some of the highlights of things we haven't covered recently include:

• Gassenheimer believes that each dollar Ener1 invests in the automotive battery subsidiary EnerDel will "return between $4.00 and $6.00 in revenues annually." Gassenheimer says carmakers will need $150bn worth of li-ion batteries each year at some point in the undefined future. Domestic automakers "will require, or at least have a firm preference for, domestically manufactured batteries."
• Nonetheless, future battery plants will of necessity be located around the world.
• Ener1 and EnerDel are poised to use their "first-mover" advantage in li-ion battery tech which was gained by supplying the 27 kWh packs for Th!nk.
• Ener1's shareholder equity was $35m at the end of June.

You can read the entire letter after the jump.

[Source: Ener1]

The EnerDel li-ion battery company continues charging ahead in Indiana. The company got a visit from governor Mitch Daniels today at its Indianapolis location and the big news for EnerDel is that the Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered the company up to $7.125m in "performance-based tax credits and up to $58,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans." Those plans include creating over 850 new jobs between now and the end of 2012. Gov. Daniels was suitably impressed, saying in a statement that, "When those jobs are in a technology of tomorrow, like electric cars, it offers the prospect of even bigger news to follow. Indiana has what it takes to lead this automotive revolution and today is step one." Currently, Ener1 (which owns EnerDel) currently employs 92 people at the Indy location. More details after the jump.

[Source: Ener1]

There are changes in EnerDel/Ener1 land. Yesterday, Ener1 said it would be moving its headquarters to New York City. Today, in a more important announcement, Ener1 said that it has taken complete control of EnerDel, Ener1's li-ion battery subsidiary, by buying some equity interest away from former joint venture partner Delphi. Delphi let its 19.5 percent equity interest in EnerDel go as part of its work to get out of bankruptcy. Ener1 gave Delphi 2.8m shares of Ener1 Restricted Common Stock and a cool eight million bucks. Even with the cash outlay, Ener1 says it remains debt free and "fully funded at present levels of activity through the end of 2009." Not a bad place to be in the current economic and automotive climate. Check out Ener1's press release for more details



[Source: Ener1]

We spoke with Ener1 Chairman Charles Gassenheimer back in December at the EVS23 expo and at the time he was quite bullish on his company's prospects for 2008. So far this year, there has been quite a bit of good news for the company. Ener1's li-ion battery subsidiary, EnerDel, put a lithium-ion pack in a Th!nk City EV and is a staunch proponent of making future hybrids much more affordable. GM-Volt's Lyle Dennis recently had a chance to get an update on EnerDel's current battery status from Gassenheimer and you can read all about it here. The condensed version is:

• The EnerDel Prius was tested at Argonne national lab and got 77.4 mpg.
• Some EnerDel battery packs are being tested in Canada.
• The available operating range of EnerDel's packs is 95.5 percent, much more than the range that other companies' batteries can offer.
• Ener1 is in talks with more companies to use their batteries.
• Gassenheimer doesn't see a lithium shortage any time soon. Perhaps we'll get it from seawater some day.
• Li-ion Th!nk City still on track to be "on the road by the end of this year."

Read the rest.
[Source: GM-Volt]

EnerDel is the battery division of Ener1, an energy storage solutions company. EnerDel's batteries can currently be found in a plug-in Prius and a Th!nk City. The parent company announced today that it has raised $29.7m worth of equity capital through something called a Warrant Exercise. The influx of funds means that Ener1's cash position on its balance sheet is now around $42.5m, the company said in a statement. While the statement doesn't specifically mention any of Ener1's automotive battery technologies, Ener1 Chairman Charles Gassenheimer said that, "We also now have access to a $7 million equipment lease facility that will help finance our plant expansion in Indianapolis and increase our financial flexibility." That Indianapolis facility is where people like Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) go to take test drives of EnerDel li-ion hybrids. More details on the stock deal after the jump.