Lightning Motorcycles Does It Again

Lightning Motorcycles switched to using Ener1’s PHEV lithium-ion battery solutions earlier this year to help it achieve better performance on the racing circuit with their Lightning SuperBike. That decision paid off several times this past week as Lightning set several land-speed records (see previous post) for an electric motorcycle. After achieving a record of 206.079 mph early in the week, the team later set a new electric motorcycle land-speed record of 215.90 mph during Bonneville SpeedWeek.

To achieve the record, the Southern California Timing Association/Bonneville Nationals, Inc. (SCTA/BNI) takes the average of two runs. The Lightning SuperBike achieved an average speed of 215.960 mph with a best speed of 218.637 mph - more than 40 miles-per-hour faster than Lightning’s previous record of 173 mph. During the slower of the two runs, Paul Thede, who actually drove the bike to its new record, strapped a camera to his helmet to document the bike surpassing the 200-mph mark. Make sure you turn up the sound when you watch the video.

Congratulations Lightning Motorcycles . . . 206.079 mph!

Lightning Motorcycles did it again this past weekend. The company’s Lightning SuperBike zipped across the finish line at Bonneville at a record-breaking 206.079 mph during the Southern California Timing Association’s Speed Week. The Lightning SuperBike, which uses Ener1’s PHEV lithium-ion battery cells, is the first electric motorcycle to break the 200 mph mark.

Paul Thede (pictured) from Race-Tech, who raced the bike for Lightning Motorcycles, became one of only 65 people to ever break 200 mph on a motorcycle. He’s the first one to do so on an electric motorcycle (hence the big smile).

Ener1 Signs Supply Agreement with Lightning Motorcycles

According to Lightning Motorcycles founder, Richard Hatfield:

“The Lightning data and test results showed us that Ener1’s lithium-ion batteries far out-perform those from competing companies, which is why we switched to using their cells in our electric motorcycles.”

Today, Ener1 and Lightning Motorcycles announced they have completed a supply agreement with Ener1 supplying its automotive-grade, lithium-ion battery cells for use in Lightning’s SuperBike, which owns the world land-speed record for an electric motorcycle. Lightning Motorcycles will also use Ener1’s cells in their commuter motorcycle and scooter, which will be developed over the next several years.

Lightning’s SuperBike became the world’s fastest production electric motorcycle with the FIM and AMA official world record of 173.388 mph during the world finals in October last year.

Check out today’s news release for more information.

Chinese Government Approves Wanxiang-Ener1 Joint Venture

The Chinese government approved the joint venture between Wanxiang and Ener1. CEO Charles Gassenheimer spoke at the Indiana-Zhejiang Business Symposium yesterday where the announcement was made. For a full version of the news release, please click here.

Wanxiang and Ener1 Receive Chinese Government Approval for Joint Venture

Business to Focus on Energy Storage Solutions for
Electric Vehicles and Utility Grid Applications

Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV), a leader in lithium-ion energy storage solutions, and Wanxiang Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd., a division of the Chinese conglomerate Wanxiang Group Corporation, today announced that they have received approval from the Chinese government for their joint venture to co-manufacture lithium-ion energy storage systems for the China market.

Government officials, including Party Secretary Zhao Hongzhu from China’s Zhejiang Province, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and members of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, were on hand for the announcement as part of the Indiana-Zhejiang Business Symposium in Indianapolis. The delegation also toured Ener1’s manufacturing plant in Mt. Comfort, Ind., which is one of three facilities the company has throughout the Indianapolis area.

“Indiana is committed to maintaining a climate where innovative businesses like Ener1 can succeed,” Governor Daniels said. “We’re very proud to have played a role in bringing these two companies together and look forward to their shared success as they develop the next phase of the electric car industry. Today’s announcement is an example of one of many fruitful partnerships between Indiana and China and shows that the Hoosier economy has a global reach.”

The new company – Zhejiang Wanxiang Ener1 Power System Co., Ltd – will initially focus on fulfilling existing contracts with State Grid, which is the largest power supplier in China. These projects include providing lithium-ion battery systems for a pure electric bus project for the city of Qingdao, a pure electric car project for the city of Hangzhou, as well as a grid energy storage system. As capacity increases, it is anticipated the joint venture will work with other existing customers, such as SAIC Motor, Dongfeng Motor, Faw Haima Motor, Chang'an Automobile, Guangzhou Automobile and Yutong. The joint enterprise is expected to achieve annual cell manufacturing capacity of 300 million Ampere hours (approximately 40,000 electric vehicle battery packs) annually by 2014.

Brookings Releases Clean Economy Job Assessment

A national and regional green jobs assessment was released today by the Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institution, entitled, “Sizing the Clean Economy.” Although the jobs that relate to this sector are difficult to track or analyze, this report defines it as the sector of the economy that produces goods and services with an environmental benefit.

Analyzing data from 2003 through 2010 for every county in the U.S., the report analyzes and comments on job growth in the clean economy and discusses how the country and local governments can address some of the key policy challenges that might be slowing the growth of the clean economy. Click here to download the complete report. Listen to comments by Mark Muro, senior fellow and policy director at Brookings in the following video:

National Summit Addresses Energy Security

CEOs, military leaders and policymakers will meet in Washington DC tomorrow to learn, discuss and formulate solutions to address the intensifying threats posed by our country’s dependence on oil.

Ener1 CEO Charles Gassenheimer will speak on a panel entitled, “Perspectives on Consumer Demand for Electrification,” along with Arun Banskota, president, NRG EV Services; David Sandalow, assistant secretary for policy and international affairs, US Department of Energy; Steven Heller, executive chairman, CODA Automotive; and, John Spirtos, CEO, GridPoint, Inc.

The panel will be moderated by Seth Fletcher, senior editor of Popular Science magazine. The 90-minute panel discussion will focus on topics from building consumer awareness and driving adoption to technical points, such as driving range, charging time and battery costs, as well as the value of government support and incentives. Click here for more information.

New Additions to Ener1's Leadership Team

Ener1 introduced three additions to its executive leadership team this morning. Read on...

Ener1 Adds Three New Executives

Additions Strengthen Leadership Team to Support Anticipated Growth

NEW YORK (July 12, 2011) – Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV), a leader in energy storage technology solutions, today announced it has appointed three new executives to support anticipated growth and existing programs for its electric utility, transportation and industrial electronics customers.

“We're continually looking for ways to reduce our overall structural costs while simultaneously enhancing our operational ability to deliver world-class energy storage solutions to existing customers, like the Federal Grid Corporation, Volvo Cars, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Toro, Motorola and Kenwood Radio,” stated Ener1 President Chris Cowger. “We are adding some first-rate talent to strengthen Ener1’s operations, manufacturing, human resources and finance areas to help us achieve this goal. These new hires bring more than 75 years of combined Fortune 500 experience working across a broad range of technology companies and managing billions of dollars in revenue. We expect they will be terrific assets in driving our growth over the next several years to make Ener1 an even more cost-efficient company for both current and future customers.”

Additions to Ener1’s leadership team include:

Melissa Debes joins Ener1 in the role of chief accounting officer and senior vice president of finance. She will also serve as chief financial officer for Ener1’s EnerDel subsidiary. With more than 25 years experience, she was previously the corporate vice president of finance at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), where she consolidated business planning and forecasting efforts and spearheaded AMD’s zero-based budgeting process. Prior to joining AMD, she was the division controller for Motorola’s PowerPc computing platform group. Melissa has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in international management from Thunderbird-American Graduate School.

Dan Allen will serve as Ener1’s senior vice president of operations and procurement. For the past 13 years, he was an executive director in worldwide procurement at Dell, where he gained extensive experience in global sourcing, supplier development and supply-chain optimization. Prior to Dell, Dan spent 10 years with EDS in various finance and operations positions, including four years living in Beijing and Hong Kong establishing EDS's China operations. Dan has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Eddie Luedke joins Ener1 as vice president of human resources with more than 20 years experience from companies like AMD, Dell and EDS. He most recently ran AMD’s human resources function for sales, marketing, corporate strategy, IT, and finance. During his 11-year tenure with Dell, Eddie had HR responsibility for the global sales and call center organizations, and managed compensation and benefits for Latin America and Canada. Eddie earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Texas A&M University.

Ener1 is also pleased to announce that Robert Kamischke, who has served as Ener1’s chief accounting officer and vice president of finance, will bring his expertise to a new role as vice president of manufacturing engineering.

“We believe we’re building a world-class technology company with operations extending across Asia, North America and Europe, which will provide us with greater scale and flexibility to meet our customers’ needs,” stated Ener1 Chairman & CEO Charles Gassenheimer. “Having a top-notch leadership team, with the experience and knowledge to help grow and manage our global operations, is important to our continued success. We are also grateful for the further capital commitment from the company’s principal shareholder announced last week. With the additional capital commitment and our ability to attract exceptional talent, we’re very optimistic about continuing our recent growth in grid energy storage, as well as building upon our success in the transportation sector. We also anticipate our industrial electronics small pack battery business will surpass last year’s revenue growth."

About Ener1, Inc.

Ener1, Inc. is a publicly traded (NASDAQ:HEV) energy storage technology company that develops compact, lithium-ion-powered battery solutions for the transportation, utility grid and industrial electronics markets. Headquartered in New York City, the company has more than 700 employees with manufacturing locations in the United States and Korea. Ener1 also develops commercial fuel cell products and nanotechnology-based materials. For more information, visit Ener1's web site at www.ener1.com.

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