Battery company Boston Power thinks it can bring electric car battery manufacturing to the U.S. with some help from government stimulus funds.
The Westborough, Mass.-based company on Monday is scheduled to hold a press event in nearby Auburn where it plans to build a factory to make lithium-ion batteries for laptops and electric vehicles.
A Ford Escape modified to run with Boston Power's Swing auto batteries.
(Credit: Boston Power)Construction of the facility, which used to be a distribution center for a clothing retailer, is contingent on a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's advanced battery and cell manufacturing grant program.
Boston Power has applied for $100 million in the program and has lined up $9 million in state loans, according to founder and CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud.
"The general feeling is that the stimulus money gives the investment community the shot in the arm to dare," she said.
The $2 billion advanced battery manufacturing program was established earlier this year in the stimulus act to promote development of domestic battery industry for a coming generation of electric vehicles.
Competition for the battery loan money, however, is fierce with about 160 companies said to be applying for the money. The U.S. Energy Department, which was criticized by renewable energy industries for delays, has said it expects to decide on the grants in the summer.
Four-year-old Boston Power already operates three factories in Asia to make batteries for Hewlett-Packard laptops. Those plants will serve as a "blueprint" for the Auburn facility, Lampe-Onnerud said.
It could take about three years to build the plant, which the company could start working on later this year, she said.
Swinging into auto business
Boston Power on Monday is expected to disclose the name of its auto battery, called Swing, which the company has been developing for several months. The company expects to make batteries for plug-in electric vehicles as well as all-electric cars.
Lampe-Onnerud said Swing is already being tested with well-known auto companies. The auto pack is based on the same cells used in Boston Power's laptop batteries which means that it a single manufacturing facility can turn out both.
The company decided Massachusetts would make a good location because the state offered incentives and it's close to Boston Power's research and development facility.
At Monday's press conference, five Massachusetts politicians are scheduled to speak including Gov. Deval Patrick and Secretary of Energy and Environment Ian Bowles.
A Massachusetts location could be beneficial to working with European auto industry partners, Lampe-Onnerud said. "We have an opportunity to fulfill existing markets and be neighbors to where emerging markets are being invented," she said.
Hewlett Packard on Monday said that its long-lasting Enviro laptop batteries from Boston Power are available with a three-year warranty.
The batteries costs $149.99 and fit 18 of HP's laptops. They can be purchased online now and will be available in stories later this month.
(Credit:
Boston Power)
HP has branded Boston Power's Sonata batteries under the Enviro name to emphasize the environmental attributes. With a longer-lasting battery, consumers need to upgrade less often, which reduces the number of batteries that need to be recycled, HP said in a statement.
Last year, an HP representative estimated the Enviro line costs about $20 to $30 more than traditional batteries.
For start-up company Boston Power, the product release is a significant milestone.
Company founders started three years ago with a fresh design to improve the performance and environmental sustainability of laptop batteries.
While typical laptop batteries start to lose performance after 100 or 150 charges, Boston Power says that its batteries can be charged 1,000 times and get "like new" performance.
Boston Power also sought to use the environmentally conscious materials, eliminating the use PVC plastic andheavy metals cadmium, arsenic, or mercury in the manufacturing process.
In January, Boston Power raised a series D round of $55 million in capital in a difficult financial environment. It plans to expand its laptop battery manufacturing and move into different product categories, including mobile gadget chargers and transportation.
Updated at 7:52 a.m. PT with corrected number of HP laptops the batteries fit into.
Laptop battery maker Boston-Power on Wednesday said it has raised $55 million to expand its manufacturing, and develop lithium ion batteries for transportation and potentially other applications.
The Series D round was led by Foundation Asset Management, the investment arm of a Swedish foundation, along with existing investors Oak Investment Partners, Venrock, GGV Capital, and Gabriel Venture Partners. Altogether, 4-year old Boston-Power has raised $125 million.
Boston-Power founder and CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud holds a Sonata lithium ion battery cell.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET Networks)Boston-Power's first product a long-lasting battery called Sonata, is available for Hewlett-Packard laptops. While the run time of current laptop batteries starts to degrade after about 150 charges, the Sonata can go for 1,000 charges without the same degradation, according to the company. It can also be charged quickly, getting 80 percent of capacity in half an hour.
The Westborough, Mass.-based company has sought to make its batteries environmentally sustainable as well by not using PVC plastic or heavy metals--cadmium, arsenic, or mercury--in the manufacturing process.
With the fresh funding round, Boston-Power intends to boost its manufacturing, and develop batteries for cars and potentially for utility-level energy storage, co-founder and CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud said.
"We took on the mission of creating a more satisfying experience with laptops, and now we can go into transportation more seriously," Lampe-Onnerud said.
The funding--a sign of confidence in an energy technology company--comes at a time when many clean-tech start-ups are having to scale back with layoffs in order to preserve cash. Certain technology areas, including energy storage and energy efficiency, however, are better placed than others.
Hewlett-Packard early next year will begin offering a new line of "Enviro" batteries for laptop users who want to upgrade to longer-lasting and more sustainably designed batteries.
HP and Boston Power have been testing the Sonata lithium-ion batteries for three years. The batteries were designed specifically for laptop use. After three years of use, the batteries will be able to keep 80 percent of their initial charge.
Laptop battery time typically starts to drop significantly after 150 or so charges, or cycles. Boston Power says that its batteries can be charged 1,000 times and get "like new" performance.
An HP representative on Tuesday said that the Sonata batteries will cost between $20 and $30 more than traditional batteries and will be available on some consumer laptop machines. There will be a three-year warranty, and no system changes are required.
The Enviro batteries are marketed as more environmentally friendly for a number of reasons, according to Christina Lampe-Onnerud, founder and CEO of Boston Power.
The company chose not to use any PVC plastic or heavy metals--cadmium, arsenic, or mercury--in the manufacturing process. The batteries can also be recycled, said Lampe-Onnerud, adding that the battery has received a number of "green" certifications.
More simply, Lampe-Onnerud argued that purchasing one product that lasts for at least three years, rather than buying multiple batteries, is more environmentally sustainable and economical.
"Our tests found that 40 percent of consumers over three years have replaced laptop batteries up to five times. If each is $150, that's almost the cost of the whole system," she said. "I think this will change the appetite for sustainable products. Instead of purchasing something expendable, they can have something that lasts."
Boston Power is in discussions with other computer manufacturers, she added without disclosing any names.
The company also plans to release a portable lithium-ion battery for adding charge to cell phones or other gadgets and intends to enter the auto battery market, Lampe-Onnerud said.
Upstart Boston-Power is within months of having its long-lasting batteries shipped in notebook PCs, as it eyes expansion into portable power packs and electric cars.
The three-year-old company says its Sonata batteries are able to recharge to 80 percent capacity in 30 minutes, versus two hours to get to a 90 percent charge in conventional notebook batteries. And Boston-Power's batteries can be recharged 1,000 times before their performance starts to wane, versus 150 times in today's laptops, according to founder and CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud. Typically, the amount of computing time that a laptop battery supplies goes down after hundreds of charges.
Boston-Power founder and CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud holding a Sonata lithium ion battery cell.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET Networks)I caught up with Lampe-Onnerud on Tuesday at the Fourth Conference on Clean Energy in Boston. Ironically, we bumped into each other at a water cooler where I was doing what so many laptop toters are stuck doing: plugging into a free outlet because my battery was dying.
Lampe-Onnerud says the arrival of Sonata batteries will mean a completely different user experience, allowing people to go all day without having to carry cords and search out public power outlets.
Hewlett-Packard last year said it has tested Boston-Power's batteries.
Without mentioning HP by name, Lampe-Onnerud said Boston-Power expects to announce its first customer soon. A company representative on Wednesday said Sonata-powered laptops will be available early next year. Lampe-Onnerud added that the company is working with smaller laptop providers as well.
Boston-Power, which has raised $70 million, has a technology road map to improve further on performance. In its labs, it has batteries able to recharge 1,400 times. Next year, it intends to release a portable power source for recharging consumer electronics, either through a USB connection or a small solar panel, Lampe-Onnerud said.
In two years, it expects to have a product for plug-in electric cars, she added. "The specifications for laptops and electric cars are remarkably close," she said.
The company has done a number of things to improve lithium ion battery performance and safety, according to Lampe-Onnerud. The company has also redesigned the battery pack to have fewer cells and has made a number of manufacturing improvements, she explained.
She argued that the Sonata batteries are a "clean technology" because they are more energy-efficient. The company also seeks to use less harmful reactive chemicals and no heavy metals.
To manufacture its batteries--a significant business challenge for any new battery company--Boston-Power has set up factories in Taiwan and China.
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