Ambitious lithium-ion manufacturer Boston Power Inc has set its sights on the battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle market after appointing former GM executive Robert C Purcell Jr to its board of directors.
Purcell led the GM Advanced Technology Vehicles Group from 1994-2002 and was responsible for the development of the EV-1. His organisation also developed and produced the S-10 Electric Truck and the GM Precept Hybrid Vehicle that was used as part of President Clinton’s Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles programme. Currently, he serves as founder and president of Purcell & Associates, an advisory group that specialises in advanced automotive and alternative energy investment projects.
With the appointment, Boston Power founder and CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud is hopeful that the company will gain from Purcell’s “invaluable insights” as it attempts to bring to market what she describes as a “game changing” lithium-ion battery that “delivers unmatched levels of high energy density, safety, low cost, fast charge and environmental sustainability”.
Boston Power’s battery technology is based on a flat, oval shaped prismatic cell design and the company uses cobalt and manganese on the cathode with graphite on the anode. In 2009, it developed a Ford Escape plug-in demonstrator with a 12kWh pack and in December it became part of a Swedish electric automobile coalition to drive the advancement of high performance electric vehicles.
Purcell matches the CEO’s enthusiasm and stated that he has “been looking for a battery like Boston Power’s for 20 years”. He states that Boston Power’s batteries are the only ones that have earned stringent certifications for environmental sustainability and are already well received in the auto industry.
