Milwaukee's Johnson Controls Inc. continues to make progress in its move into lithium-ion batteries.
Johnson's joint venture with Paris-based Saft SA
said it will
supply the complete battery system for Ford Motor Co.'s
first series production plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, which will be
introduced in 2012. The five-year supply agreement targets production of 5,000 units a year.
A key competitor to Johnson Controls, Korea's LG Chem Ltd.,
won a contract with General Motors Corp. last month to produce its batteries in Michigan, where manufacturing jobs have taken a hit.
Mary Ann Wright (pictured), who leads the Johnson Controls-Saft JV and is VP and general manager of hybrid systems for Johnson Controls, said the Ford deal validates that the U.S. is positioned to be a leader in the development of hybrid and electric vehicles. Earlier, she served as chief engineer of the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid. The JV Wright now manages also recently got a five-year contract to supply 20,000 lithium-ion batteries to Detroit's Azure Dynamics Inc. for hybrid commercial trucks.
A Bloomberg article noted that
cash-burning Ford is also
joining with eight electric utilities from California to New York to test the impact of plug-in vehicles on the U.S. power grid.
Oil prices may be depressed, but automakers are banking on future demand for hybrid and electric cars -- which, if all goes well -- will reduce our carbon footprint and overseas energy dependence. As this
simple search shows, we've covered news all over the world on developments in this industry. -
Baz HiralalGo to the storyAlso see:
Electric car battery makers jostle for positionSee a 2005 CD feature on Jonson Controls
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