Depending on market conditions, Saft hopes to raise approximately €120million by way of preferential subscription rights to fund a lithium-ion battery plant in Jacksonville, Florida, a lithium-ion hybrid and electric battery plant in Holland, Michigan, and to reinforce its financial flexibility.

The announcement came as Saft declared its third quarter 2009 financial results with an 11.9 per cent reduction in sales year-on-year and a 13.2 per cent reduction at constant exchange rates.

According to John Searle, the chairman of the management board for Saft, the company is focused on medium-term growth prospects with high performance lithium-ion batteries. He expressed enthusiasm that his company has been chosen by the US Government to receive grants to build factories in North America and said he hopes the investments can have a “major impact” on the company’s mid-term growth while giving Johnson Controls-Saft potential production capacity in the US to meet the needs of Ford and other potential customers.

The plant in Jacksonville will be a high volume lithium-ion cell and battery plant that will manufacture batteries for a number of Saft’s existing markets including telecom back-up power, aviation and the military. According to market estimates this could be deeply significant by 2015 with the objective to generate sales of up to $200million a year when running at full capacity.

Johnson Controls-Saft meanwhile saw its industrial project in the US receive up to $299million from the US DOE subject to a successful contract negotiation. Its initial investment will be a facility in Holland, Michigan with the objective to generate sales of up to $450million a year at full capacity.