“This is an important milestone for GM – and a critical step in bringing the Chevrolet Volt to market,” said GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre.

GM announced last August a $43-million investment to prepare the 160,000-square-foot, landfill-free facility for production of lithium-ion battery packs for the Volt and other electric vehicles with extended-range capabilities. The plant is part of a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors called GM Subsystems Manufacturing LLC.

In just five months, the Brownstown plant was converted from an empty facility to a production-ready battery manufacturing site. New machinery and specialized equipment have been installed and three primary assembly areas have been completed: battery module pre-assembly, final assembly and the battery pack main line.

The Volt’s battery pack is made up of multiple linked battery modules and more than 200 battery cells. The initial assembly area is where the prismatic-shaped cells are processed and installed by state-of-the-art flexible automated equipment into modules, which are then delivered to the battery pack main line.

The battery pack main line area features an Automated Guided Cart (ACG) system that includes operations for thermal and electrical assembly, along with quality and dimensional checks. The main line is also where battery pack final testing, verification and packaging for shipment take place.  

Initial battery production at Brownstown will be used to validate the plant’s equipment and processes, and batteries will be sent to GM’s Global Battery Systems lab in Warren, Mich., for testing. This spring, GM will begin shipping batteries to GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant, the assembly location for the Volt, for use in production validation vehicles.

Regular production at Brownstown and Detroit-Hamtramck is set to begin in the fourth quarter.

GM is investing $700 million in eight Michigan facilities for Volt-related production, including $336 million in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which will benefit from battery research conducted at the battery lab in Warren; receive batteries from Brownstown; use tooling from Grand Blanc; take delivery of camshafts and connecting rods from Bay City; and dies, stampings and the Volt’s 1.4L engine-generator from three plants in Flint.

“The development of electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt is creating entire new sectors in the auto industry – an ‘ecosystem’ of battery developers and recyclers, builders of home and commercial charging stations, electric motor suppliers and much more,” Whitacre said. “These companies and universities are creating new jobs in Michigan and across the U.S. – green jobs – and they’re doing it by developing new technology, establishing new manufacturing capability, and strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness.”

In August, the U.S. Dept. of Energy selected 45 companies, universities and organizations, including GM, in 28 states for more than $2 billion in awards for electric drive and battery manufacturing and transportation electrification. Nearly half of that total is designated for cell, battery and materials manufacturing facilities in Michigan.

The Volt is an electric vehicle with extended-range capability. It is designed to drive up to 40 miles on electricity without using gasoline or producing tailpipe emissions. When the Volt’s lithium-ion battery is depleted of energy, a flex-fuel engine-generator seamlessly operates to extend the total driving range to about 300 miles before refueling or stopping to recharge the battery. Pricing has not been announced.

All of these companies have been working out of the limelight for a while now — infrastructure isn’t as sexy as the cars themselves. Coulomb has quietly been installing its ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations one city at a time in North America and Europe. These machines, small enough to be bolted to a roadside street lamp, pump up to 240 volts of AC power or 500 volts of DC power, juicing up drivers’ batteries quickly while they’re on the go — all they have to do is swipe a ChargePoint card, just like a debit card.

But Coulomb says 2010 will be its breakout year, with plans to roll out thousands of new stations across many cities, and to establish footholds in Asia and South America. The recent funding, led by Voyager Capital and Rho Ventures, and including Siemens Venture Capital and Hartford Ventures, should give it the boost it needs to make this happen.

In addition to installing stations in one municipality at a time, the Campbell, Calif., company is also forging partnerships with companies who will make the technology available in their parking lots. Perhaps the biggest boon in this area was the deal with McDonalds to make charging stations accessible for fast food diners with plug-in vehicles. The company also counts Dell, Reliant Energy, DTE Energy and Element Hotels among its strategic partners. In all, it provides charging stations to 120 clients, including cities.

The funding is yet another sign that electric vehicle infrastructure is finally attracting the attention it deserves. For a while, EV makers and enthusiasts alike have been wondering how wide adoption of these cars will occur without the necessary charging and fueling infrastructure already existing in the field. Last year, Coulomb snagged $3.8 million in a first round of funding. The fact that its latest fund-raise tripled this amount is an extremely positive indicator of investor interest.

Now that infrastructure companies are starting to get the resources they need, it will be interesting to watch how competition between them plays out. Better Place, which is also pursuing a similar charging station concept, has focused a lot recently on battery-switching stations, where drivers could swap out depleted batteries for fully-charged models at designated points. This solution is intended to address charging wait times, which could still exceed a half hour with Coulomb’s stations. No would one want to wait a half hour at a gas station, is the thinking.

There is also hydrogen fuel cells to consider. With Toyota, Daimler, General Motors and Honda all working on hydrogen-powered cars, these models could present formidable competition for EVs. SunHydro, a startup planning to use solar energy to generate the hydrogen for fueling stations, seems to have a feasible, affordable plan. How much of the market will it carve out?

Estag Capital provided Coulomb’s first round of funding last year.

By  Camille Ricketts

Nissan will start taking online reservations for the Leaf in April. Better get in line now; some 50,000 people have already signed up!

Nissan LEAF, the world’s first all-electric, zero-emission car designed for the mass market, and leads up to the start of the vehicle-purchase process. The Nissan LEAF will be available to consumers via lease or sale, in a single transaction that includes the battery. Steps to acquiring a Nissan LEAF are:

REGISTER: Interested people can register for more information about the Nissan LEAF on www.NissanUSA.com. To date, close to 50,000 people have registered on the website. Registrants will be given first priority to reserve a Nissan LEAF.

RESERVE: The reservation process will begin in April, shortly after the announcement of the price of the Nissan LEAF. Upon paying a fully refundable $100 reservation fee, registrants will be among the first in line able to order a Nissan LEAF.

ORDER: Nissan will begin taking firm orders in August, for deliveries when sales begin in the driver’s particular market.

EARLY DELIVERIES: Rollout begins in select markets in December 2010, with vehicles available in all major launch markets quickly thereafter.

“The Nissan LEAF purchase process is effortless, transparent and accessible, offering value with a one-stop-shop approach for everything related to the car, including the assessment, permitting and installation of in-home battery charging units,” said Carlos Tavares, Chairman, Nissan Americas. “We want everyone to feel good about having a car that is affordable, fun to drive and good for the environment.”

Coinciding with this next phase of the Nissan LEAF launch is the debut of Nissan’s initial global marketing campaign, which is called “The New Car.” A first look at the campaign – which illustrates Nissan’s passion about the potential for zero-emission mobility and a better, cleaner world – was shown in New York as part of the culmination of the Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour.

The Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour covered 10,000 miles in the United States and Canada, providing the first opportunity for more than 100,000 people to see and learn about the Nissan LEAF first hand.

“There was a groundswell of grassroots support from coast to coast,” said Tavares. “Everywhere we went, people recognized a new form of mobility – a turning point – and they wanted to be a part of it. The response was spontaneous and diverse. We were joined by mayors and government officials, CEOs, utility partners, car enthusiasts, students, dealers, media, environmentalists, Twitter users and lots of families.”

Tour Highlights:
Diverse tour stops, stretching from Stanford University to the Kennedy Space Center. Other stops included: Phoenix on New Year’s Eve, in conjunction with the Fiesta Bowl; Qwest Field in Seattle; the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland; and a charging-station-equipped McDonald’s in Cary, N.C. The tour also stopped at Nissan Americas in Franklin, Tenn; the Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing facility where the Nissan LEAF will be built starting in 2012; and Nissan Design Americas in San Diego. New York area stops include Madison Square Garden (Feb. 10), and upcoming public displays at the Time Warner Center (Feb. 12) and the Liberty Science Center (Feb. 13).

Due to the high level of interest, Atlanta and Boston were added to the original tour schedule, bringing total cities to 24.

PHOENIX, Jan 28, 2010 — BUSINESS WIRE

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today recognized ECOtality, Inc. (OTCBB: ETLE), and its wholly owned subsidiary, eTec (Electric Engineering Transportation Corporation), for the company’s work toward establishing robust electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the United States. Secretary Chu made his remarks at the Washington Auto Show in Washington, D.C. today during a news conference to announce financing that will enhance U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing.

“eTec is working on the largest EV infrastructure deployment in the world, and we are working very closely to get EVs on the road,” said Secretary Chu. “We need charging stations and infrastructure – it is very important.”

Secretary Chu announced that the Department of Energy has closed a $1.4 billion loan agreement with Nissan North America, Inc. The loan will support the modification of Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing plant to produce the Nissan LEAF, a zero-emission, all-electric vehicle, and the lithium-ion battery packs to power them.

In August 2009, ECOtality’s subsidiary, eTec, was awarded a federal stimulus grant of nearly $100 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The grant is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), with the goal of creating thousands of new jobs, preserving existing jobs and jump-starting the economy.

The $100 million DOE grant is facilitating The EV Project, the largest rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure in the United States. With a match from project partners, The EV Project has a total value of more than $200 million, and will support electric vehicles with home-base, commercial and public chargers in major markets in five states: Arizona (Phoenix & Tucson areas), Washington (Seattle area), Oregon (Portland, Salem, Corvallis and Eugene), California (San Diego) and Tennessee.

eTec President and CEO Don Karner attended the announcement as a guest of Secretary Chu. Karner said, “The EV Project is paving the way for widespread acceptance of electric vehicles, and we are proud to be working with the Department of Energy to achieve the goal to create jobs and end our dependence on foreign oil.”

For more information about The EV Project, please visit www.theevproject.com.

About ECOtality, Inc.

ECOtality, Inc. (OTCBB:ETLE), headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies. Through innovation, acquisitions and strategic partnerships, ECOtality accelerates the market applicability of advanced electric technologies to replace carbon-based fuels. For more information about ECOtality, Inc., please visit www.ecotality.com.

The answer could be the Ford Focus EV due out in late 2011—the first electric car designed for the generic aisle of the dealership. Ford’s plans for the Focus EV are not aimed at buzz and sizzle. Instead, the company is focused on addressing the biggest obstacle between EVs and the mainstream: cost.

(Sure, those other companies expect to ramp up production, realize economies of scale, and eventually reduce costs down to reason. But doesn’t that seem like a roundabout way to achieve the goal?)

Technology As Cool

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (left) and Nancy Gioia, director of sustainable mobility technologies at Ford, check out the Ford Focus EV at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

The Ford Focus EV will be based on the next-generation Ford Focus, a capable if not head-turning car. By choosing an existing platform, Ford will save the expense associated with developing a unique design. Ever since the second-generation Prius, with its iconic design, became a hit, automakers have adopted the idea that a hybrid car with an innovative high-tech drivetrain needs to scream out for attention. That’s the direction that Nissan is taking with its yet-to-be-unveiled small electric car, also due out in 2012. The Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, the new Honda Insight, and the Lexus HS250h are also original purpose-built designs.

Ford is gambling that the cool factor lies in the technology and price, not in the car’s name or the shape of the sheet metal. Pricing is not yet announced, but trimming the cost obviously will give Ford the ability to aim for affordability and profitability. (Nissan is aiming for $25,000 to $30,000 for its EV; and the Chevy Volt will cost in the range of $40,000.)

Pre-packaged Technology

The second cost-cutting measure is Ford’s use of generic pre-made electric car technology. In other words, Ford is using a system already developed by Magna International, a major global auto supply and technology firm, which has been looking for a carmaker to use its new pre-packaged electric car architecture, including motor, transmission, motor controller, lithium ion battery system and charger. Ford is the first to sign on.

Magna will also share in the engineering responsibility to integrate the electric propulsion system into the Ford Focus EV. Furthermore, Ford’s deal with Magna is non-exclusive—so the same system could be used by Ford’s competition to make an electric cars. In fact, Ford is encouraging Magna to spread the high-tech love, because Magna’s success with EV technology will increase the chances that other car companies will help defray costs. Implied in this approach is the likely slow rollout of pure electric cars, which could take a decade to grow beyond a niche.

Ford used a similar strategy with its Sync in-car entertainment system, developed in partnership with Microsoft, which can sell the technology to other automakers.

The Ford Focus EV is targeted to have a range of 100 miles between charges, courtesy of a 23 kWh battery pack. The Focus EV will not be a plug-in series hybrid, sometimes referred to as “extended-range electric vehicle,” which carries a small engine on board to recharge the batteries on the fly. Instead, you’ll need to plan your travels to get back to a plug before you use up the 100 miles worth of energy. Fully recharging could take from 6 to 12 hours, depending if you are using a 110-volt or 220-volt hookup. Ford is planning to introduce its own plug-in hybrid in 2012.

The Ford Focus EV will use a single-speed transmission. The powertrain, including the motor and gearbox, are packaged under the hood where you would expect to see a gasoline engine.

The Back Story

Ford had been chatting with Magna about electric cars for a couple of years, when in 2008 Magna presented its electric car prototype to Ford engineers and executives. “We took a look at that execution and said, ‘Hey, together we can really make this a proposition,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford’s Director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies.

Five months later, Ford announced its intention to produce the car at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

Early reviews of the Focus EV pre-production vehicles have been positive—with kudos for brisk acceleration, top-notch build-quality, and handling and braking much better than your average pre-production car. When Michigan’s Gov. Jennifer Granholm took a spin of the Focus EV at the Detroit Show, she was impressed. “At first, she was surprised that it wasn’t merely a concept car, but actually a road-ready demonstrator of battery electric vehicle technology,” said Gioia. “I think she was wowed by how it’s quiet, smooth and fun to drive.”

The Japanese automaker is working with Ecotality to bring 11,210 chargers and 4,700 Nissan Leaf electric cars to five states — Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington and Tennessee. Ecotality is getting a big assist from the Department of Energy, which has granted the Arizona company $99.8 million to underwrite The Electric Vehicle Project. Ecotality calls it “the largest deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in history.”

Creating that infrastructure will be a huge challenge, but Mark Perry, director of product planning for Nissan North America, tells the Tennessean the company will be ready when the first Leafs (Leaves?) roll into showrooms in December 2010.

“There is a lot of work to be done and not a lot of time to do it,” he said. No kidding.

Look for the Nissan Leaf EV late next year. Nissan and Ecotality will, according to the Tennessean, install 220-volt chargers in customers’ homes throughout the state and create public charging stations in Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville and along the highways connecting those cities. That sounds like a more ambitious version of the charging corridor SolarCity and Rabobank have created between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Why Tennessee, you ask? Because Nissan North America is based in Franklin. Nissan is investing $1 billion in a factory in Smyrna, Tennessee, that will build lithium-ion battery packs for the Leaf and — beginning in 2012 — the car itself. The Department of Energy has loaned the automaker $1.6 billion to help finance that project. The batteries and cars will be built in Japan until the factory comes on line. Nissan plans to build as many as 150,000 Leafs a year once the factory gets rolling. Tennessee is slated to get 2,190 of the 220-volt “Level 2″ chargers that will recharge a dead battery in eight hours.

Ecotality and Nissan also will install 50 “Level 3″ quick-chargers that reportedly can do the job in as little as 20 minutes, according to the Tennessean. All told, Ecotality says it will deploy 10,950 Level 2 chargers and 260 Level 3 chargers in the five states. When those come on line remains to be seen, and the project could be slowed by building regulations and other bureaucratic hurdles, warned Colin Read, the company’s VP of corporate development. “We could get permission to install a charger in a home in Phoenix in three weeks, for example, but it took six weeks in Scottsdale (Arizona),” Read told the paper. “Our biggest issue is trying to get the red tape out of the way.”

Nissan believes cities might opt to install charging stations in public parking garages and other locations, and it also is talking to WalMart about the possibility of having chargers in the retailer’s parking lots. CostCo also has expressed interest, according to the Tennessean.

 Ecotality and Nisssan have launched a website to provide information about the Leaf, with real-time maps showing where charging stations are located. The site also allows you to suggest locations for charging stations in your community. When we drove a Leaf prototype last spring, Perry told us the cost per mile is 4 cents if you figure gas is 4 bucks a gallon, electricity is 14 cents a kilowatt hour, and you drive 15,000 miles a year. Compare that to the 13 cents a mile you’ll pay in a car that gets 30 mpg. Perry said the car will cost about 90 cents to charge if you plug it in off-peak.