Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ALTI) entered into an exclusive three year supply agreement with Phoenix Motorcars and in return has received a 16.6% ownership of Phoenix.
Altair has received a purchase order for its NanoSafe™ 35 KWh battery pack systems from California-based Phoenix Motorcars for $1,040,000 for battery pack systems scheduled for delivery in February and March 2007.
In addition, the company announced it has entered into a multi-year purchase and supply agreement with Phoenix under which Phoenix has projected orders for 2007 between $16 and $42 Million for up to five hundred battery pack systems.
$42,000,000/500 = $84,000 -- This doesn't make sense. What's wrong?
In consideration for a three-year exclusivity agreement within the U.S., Altairnano received a 16.6% ownership in the company. The three-year exclusivity agreement provides Phoenix with limited, exclusive use of Altairnano’s NanoSafe battery packs in four-wheel, all-electric vehicles having a gross weight up to 6,000 pounds. Phoenix must meet minimum battery pack purchases, annually, to maintain the limited exclusivity agreement. The minimum commitment to maintain exclusivity for 2007 would provide $16 Million in battery pack sales to Altairnano. Altairnano’s NanoSafe battery packs manufactured for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) are excluded from the exclusivity agreement.
"The market opportunity for freeway-ready, all-electric, zero-emission vehicles is growing daily," said Phoenix Motorcars CEO Daniel J. Elliott. "Having a best-in-class company such as Altair Nanotechnologies as an equity owner and as a provider of safe, powerful, fast-charging battery packs, will be a major driver for our growth," added Elliott.
Altairnano’s NanoSafe 35 KWh battery pack systems enable Phoenix SUTs to meet California’s Air Resources Board Type III Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) standards while providing power for a driving range of 135 miles and driving speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. The NanoSafe battery pack can be recharged in less than 10 minutes at fast-charge stations.
The initial order of battery pack systems, valued at $1,040,000, is scheduled for delivery to Phoenix in February and March 2007, and additional shipments of increasing value are planned throughout the 2007 calendar year. Depending on Phoenix’s level of demand, the entire projected order for NanoSafe battery pack systems may be shipped to Phoenix in calendar year 2007. Under the terms of the multi-year purchase and supply agreement, Phoenix will purchase all battery packs for its electric vehicles from Altairnano.
Phoenix Motorcars’ market strategy targets operators of fleet vehicles, such as public utilities, public transportation providers, and delivery services. This market presents a significant opportunity as there are more than 200,000 fleet vehicles in the State of California alone, with an increasing number of fleet operators now seeking freeway-capable, zero emission, all electric vehicles. The Phoenix SUT and SUV vehicles are the only all-electric vehicles currently on the market capable of meeting California’s Type III ZEV requirements.
2 comments:
Don't attempt to calculate the cost of Altair NanoSafes by published contract figures. Those can include such things as California green credits - you must realize that in California, nothing is as it seems and very crazy policies prevail.
"Up to 500 for up to $xxx" may be backwards - reading it in reverse yields $32,000 for a 35-60 kwhr battery pack (the avg pack size is not mentioned), which wouldn't be too far from reality for an assembly line that isn't benefitting from large numbers.
I agree with you. Those have in the past included such things as payment for engineering services, prototyping and other odds and ends.
The source for battery cost info is Gotcher himself, and he has CLEARLY stated that the cost of mass produced NanoSafes will be comparable to li ion batteries, which generally means somewhere around $400 per kilowatt hour of capacity. That is more than any of the automakers want to spend, and is the main reason that they are paying for more battery research.
But they are focued on plug-in hybrid batteries, not batteries for a viable electric car, like the NanoSafes. Batteries for plug-ins don't have to be fast rechargers and the automakers don't envision batteries like the NanoSafe, which will easily outlast any vehicle they are placed into.
If the battery research can produce a cheaper battery that is equivalent to the NanoSafes, more power to them and the world, but it may not such a cheap battery may not be possible.
If that's the case, then there needs to be a rethink and consider the car and battery packs as two different animals, using a 15 year mortgage to finance the battery packs. The NanoSafes are relatively cheap on a per year or per mile basis, but, like li ion batteries, their initial cost is high. THAT'S the stumbling block here. The automakers are thinking in terms of list prices on the window, but this may be a whole new ballgame that they don't yet understand.
The lifespan of a NanoSafe battery pack may include powering three or four generations of cars.
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