Money continues to be poured into the development of lithium-ion batteries with GE making its sixth equity investment into battery manufacturer A123 Systems.
At a Battery Technology Symposium held in Niskayuna, New York, GE announced it will put $30 million into the company for which it is already established as the biggest investor with nine per cent ownership. This will bring GE’s combined investment in A123Systems to a whopping $55 billion.
So what does GE expect to see back for its money? Well, A123Systems is participating in the exploration of a dual battery system – that is the combination of two battery chemistries in a single pack with one biased towards power and the other towards energy.
GE is placing huge emphasis on batteries as it works towards bringing a hybrid locomotive to market and evaluates how hybrid technologies can advance other transportation platforms including passenger cars, buses and tugboats.
It is hoped that GE’s hybrid locomotive can provide an additional 10 per cent in fuel savings and a 10 per cent emissions reduction by capturing and storing energy with a Zebra battery pack as part of the braking process. Researchers are already working on projects with the US Department of Energy to look into plug-in hybrid vehicle technologies and their economic viability in the next three-five years.
