Argonne
National Laboratory has licensed its cathode technology to Envia Systems, based
in Newark, Calif. The deal marks the fifth licensing
agreement for the Argonne-developed cathode technology.
Building on
the existing Argonne-Envia collaboration, the Argonne
license contributes complementary technology to Envia’s development of
industry-leading lithium-ion battery solutions. General Motors announced it
will invest $7 million in Envia to provide its “battery engineering team with
access to advanced lithium-ion cathode technology that delivers higher cell
energy density and lower cost.”
In a
separate announcement, Envia Systems said that its High Capacity Manganese Rich
cathode material for advanced batteries is available in limited quantities for
pilot vehicle programs.
“Today we
are once again seeing the benefits for the American people that come with
federal investments in science and innovation. With this new agreement, a
battery technology, originally developed at the Department of Energy’s Argonne
National Laboratory, is making its way into the market. By supporting American
innovation, commercialization and manufacturing, this partnership is helping to
boost U.S.
competitiveness and create the jobs of the future,” said U.S. Energy Secretary
Steven Chu.
“At
Argonne, we are proud that our energy research is giving powerful support to
the U.S. automobile industry and revitalizing battery production in this
country, creating good new jobs here at home and increasing our economic
competitiveness world-wide,” said Jeff Chamberlain, who heads Argonne’s Energy
Storage Initiative. “The transfer of this technology to a Silicon
Valley start up like Envia demonstrates the extraordinary impact
and value of the Department of Energy’s investment in basic research, and shows
the very real contribution the national laboratories make to our country’s
prosperity.”
GM, LG Chem, Ltd., BASF, and Toda Kogyo have also licensed the
Argonne-developed technology.
