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(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) July 8, 2009 4 Comments

Quallion Seeks DOE Grants for ‘Anti-Idling’ Batteries

The maker of lithium-ion batteries for aerospace and military applications thinks batteries to help big rigs stay powered when they're parked is a good way to break into the EV battery market.

Among the host of lithium-ion battery makers seeking Department of Energy stimulus grants to help build batteries to move cars down the road, Quallion may stand out in asking for money to make batteries for trucks when they're standing still.

The Sylmar, Calif.-based lithium-ion battery maker is seeking up to $200 million to help build a $220 million factory in Palmdale, Calif.. to make batteries to help keep big rigs powered when they're parked.

That's a different approach than that of other companies seeking grants from DOE's Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative, part of the stimulus package signed into law in February.

Competitors for those grants include Valence Technology, Boston Power, Planar Energy Devices, General Electric and Chrysler (see Boston Power Angles for $100M Federal Grant and Valence Seeks DOE Stimulus Grant For Battery Factory).

But Paul Beach, Quallion's president, sees the "anti-idling" market as a good place to start in the electric transportation field.

Truckers tend to spend nights sleeping in their trucks, using power for heating, cooling, lights and other needs, Beach explained. Most keep their diesel engines run at idle to keep their truck batteries from being drained.

That engine idling uses about 960 million gallons of diesel per year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency – and it's the target of legal prohibitions in about half the states in the country, Beach said.

And while Toyota and General Motors have yet to put a lithium-ion battery-powered car on the market (though both are promising them in the next year or so), there are about a million big rigs that could use a retrofit, as well as about 200,000 a year being built, he said.

"It's our Trojan horse" approach, he said – "get into the game with anti-idling... and then, as the plug-in hybrid market comes online – if it comes online – we're prepared and engaged to produce."

Firefly Energy, which makes advanced lead-acid batteries, is also targeting the truck idling market. A similar but slightly different tack being taken by lead carbon battery maker Axion is to supply batteries for the so-called "micro-hybrid" vehicles, which use their batteries to allow their engines to shut down at standstill (see Axion's Lead Carbon Batteries: Sweet Spot for Micro-Hybrid Vehicles?).

Quallion isn't a startup – it's been making lithium-ion batteries for medical device, aerospace and military applications for years. Beach said it brings a lot of proprietary technology to the table, including the ability to completely discharge batteries without overly negative effects on cycle life, as well as safety designs to forestall the potential for the volatile materials within to burst into flame.

Some of the battery products Quallion makes for military vehicles are already suited for the truck anti-idling purpose, he said. Quallion is talking with major truck manufacturers about the anti-idling battery as a concept, though he wouldn't disclose which ones.

Quallion still intends to build the factory even if the DOE doesn't help out with a grant, he said. But the proposed 2012 opening date for the factory – aimed at an annual production of 20,000 batteries or so – would likely have to be pushed back if the grants don't come through, he said.

Comments [4]

  • Steve Pluvia 07/9/09 10:20 AM

    This is the market Firefly was shooting for; not sure if you saw the layoffs recently at Firefly.  Makes one wonder if they’ve encountered product problems…

     Reply
  • Alternative Profits 07/9/09 10:39 AM

    “get into the game with anti-idling… and then, as the plug-in hybrid market comes online – if it comes online – we’re prepared and engaged to produce.”...

    It certainly is an interesting way of getting a foot in the door. There must be millions of such rigs already there, and they are not going to become anytime soon, promises made by automakers notwithstanding.

    In fact, I think this is how many companies can get into the game right away. There are in all 750 millions vehicles on our roads worldwide - figure out how we can make these 750 owners save some bucks now, either with some retrofitting or some smart monitoring device, and you have tapped into a large, existing market. I know the idea is not exactly new, and there are tons of energy efficiency products for the auto sector, but I am sure there will many more niche markets like the one Quallion has identified

    NS @ Alternative Profits @ http://www.altprofits.com/ref/report/report.html

     Reply
  • Uncle B 08/10/09 1:51 PM

    Big Rigs about to be mothballed by Obama’s trains! Steel wheels on steel tracks, laser aligned are 400 %  more fuel efficient! New computer designed computer commanded automatic freight systems in the works, and supported by Obama’s green initiative! Diesel consumption in Us about to become a thing of the past! Care soon to be H2,O2, and battery jobs! Passenger bullet trains to replace jet filghts, rids country of foreign oil parasites! America blossoms again under Solar, Wind, Hydro, Wave, Tidal and Geothermal technologies, Nuclear reserved for Defense purposes, Remaining oil sequestered by Air force for Defense! Yankee Doodle ends romance with V - 8 engine by government decree! Solar freight blimps on horizon! Vacation Blimps offer cheap excursions! Goodyear prospers! American highway s last longer with ultralight H2O2 and battery cars! Lung cancers disappear! China and India follow America’s intelligent initiatives! The world is a better place, thanks to Yankee Doodle Dandy and his unerring “Constitution”!

     Reply
  • Richard N 08/12/09 9:56 AM

    I was a trucker for a while and -yes, it is a problem. Federal law requires that we have to sleep. If it’s 100 or -20 degrees, it’s nice to at least be comfortable.  I do see that engine heaters would be needed in cold climate. You usually idle, when parked, so the engine will stay warm. Starting a diesel when it’s -20 outside is not pretty and is quite polluting. Not sure how many pounds of batteries it would take to keep the engine and driver warm all night. Believe it or not, there is not unlimited places to put that much ‘area’ of batteries in a tractor. Weight isn’t a huge factor, but size is. Same goes for reefers…. when underway, yeah, you ‘could’ get cooling from the tractor engine, but when parked… ?? Better trailer insulation would be nice… aerogel ??
    On a happy note… some truck stops have auxiliary power plug-ins and some even have ‘hosed-in’ air conditioning or heat. This might be a good short term solution. But, of course, it’s not usually free to the driver.
    Way too few truck stops are equipped like this.
    It will get better… hooray for technology !

     Reply

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