Cobasys is the battery maker company that emerged from corporate partnerships involving the Ovshinskys' Energy Conversion Devices, GM in the days of Robert Stempel, Chevron, Texaco and ECD Ovonics (it's very complicated and there's a lot of history)! Though some who comment on this story at Green Car Congress show concern about Chevron's role, we hope this agreement will hasten the volume production for vehicles of advanced lithium-ion batteries.

Cobasys and A123Systems Partner on Li-Ion Batteries 3 January 2007 Green Car Congress http://www.greencarcongress.com/­2007/­01/­cobasys_and_a12.html

Cobasys and A123Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding to enter into a partnership to develop, manufacture, sell, and service lithium-ion energy storage systems for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications.

The scope of the agreement will include joint development, marketing and supply of A123Systems nanophosphate lithium batteries and Cobasys systems integration and manufacturing of battery systems for HEV markets. Cobasys manufactures NiMH batteries, and is currently the battery supplier for the GM Saturn VUE and Aura Green Line hybrids. (Earlier post.)

To support customer programs in transportation markets, Cobasys will act as the tier one supplier providing the technical assistance and expertise for the design and development of battery system products including: packaging, thermal management, wiring, electronics and control algorithms.

Cobasys will help develop the requirements and specifications to meet the integration needs of customers and partners and will provide the validation testing of fully integrated lithium battery systems. A123Systems will manufacture and supply its automotive-class nanophosphate lithium ion cells and technology.

The agreement to unite Cobasys system expertise with A123Systems lithium technology further exemplifies our vision to be recognized as the world's most admired energy storage integration solutions company. -Thomas S. Neslage, Cobasys President & CEO

We look forward to working with Cobasys to introduce lithium ion into the automotive market. This partnership will provide the market with game changing performance to further accelerate the adoption of hybrid electric vehicles. -David Vieau, A123Systems President and CEO

Cobasys designs, manufactures and integrates advanced battery system solutions for transportation markets, including Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), Electric Vehicles (EV) and 36/42 Volt applications and to stationary markets, including Back-Up power supply systems for Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), Telecom and Distributed Generation markets. Cobasys is a joint venture between Chevron Technology Ventures LLC, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation and Energy Conversion Devices, Inc.

In December, the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), an organization composed of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation, awarded a $15-million battery technology development contract to A123Systems. (Earlier post.) The company, which supplies li-ion packs to Black & Decker for power tools, is also working with GE Global Research, Ballard Power Systems, and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to develop a lightweight, battery-dominant zero-emissions hybrid fuel-cell bus. (Earlier post.)

Two plug-in hybrid conversions companies-HyMotion (earlier post) and Hybrids Plus (earlier post)-also use A123Systems li-ion cells in their PHEV battery systems.