China BAK Battery to Develop and Manufacture New Li-Ion Cells for Vehicles

China BAK Battery to Develop and Manufacture New Li-Ion Cells for Vehicles - China BAK Battery, Inc. (BAK) plans to construct a new facility that will focus on product development and manufacture of an advanced lithium-ion battery cell product line. The new battery cells will provide higher energy density and power, longer life cycle and shorter charge times as compared to other types of lithium-based batteries, according to the company.

The initial customer development programs will focus on applications in Light Electric Vehicles (LEV)—such as the electric bicycle—and Uninterruptible Power Supply. The planned products from this new facility also have potential application in hybrid electric vehicles.Timing of the construction of the new facility is dependent on the progress of customer development programs, according to BAK.

The facility will be owned and operated by BAK’s new indirect wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary. The new subsidiary, BAK International (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., will be located in Tianjin Beichen Hi-Tech Industrial Park in northeast China.

The earliest potential shipment from the new facility is fiscal 2008, and will become more certain as business development activities, and construction of the Tianjin facility progress.

In fiscal 2006, China BAK introduced a new line cylindrical battery cells for use in laptop computers and scaled its lithium polymer sales for mobile electrical devices significantly. BAK believes it is now in an ideal position to expand its product lines into these other emerging applications in order to capitalize on additional market opportunities.

Our new line of battery cells, which we expect to manufacture once our new Tianjin facility is completed, is a logical extension of our current product mix, it expands the market applications we serve and should strengthen our position as the worldwide market leader in lithium-based batteries cells.

—Xiangqian Li, President and Chief Executive Officer, China BAK

China BAK Battery, Inc. is one of the largest manufacturers of lithium-based battery cells in China and in the world, as measured by production output. It produces battery cells commonly used in cellular phones, notebook computers, cordless power tools and portable consumer electronics.

Early in 2006, China BAK formed a contract manufacturing partnership with A123Systems to produce that company’s first products. (Earlier post.) [Green Car Congress]