NEW YORK-Exide Corp., a Reading, Pa., battery maker well-known as an automotive industry supplier, announced a tentative acquisition agreement that offers it an entree into the wireless electronic device marketplace.
Exide said it is negotiating to buy from the Michigan Molecular Institute a controlling interest in Lion Compact Energy. Lion is a privately held company conducting research into battery electrodes, or terminals, made of graphite, a coal derivative best known for its use as the misnamed lead in pencils.
Initial applications for Lion’s dual-graphite batteries include cellular phones, portable computers, cameras, power tools and certain military equipment. Farther in the future, Exide sees opportunities to deploy the battery technology in larger devices, including wheelchairs and motorcycles. Dual-graphite batteries also have the potential to replace the lead acid batteries used in cars today and to power all-electric automobiles.
In full production, Lion’s graphite battery “could produce more than three times the energy of today’s most advanced production batteries, with half the weight, occupying far less space and at only a third the cost,” Exide’s announcement said.
However, don’t expect Lion’s dual-graphite battery to be available commercially for some time, said Bruce Boyle, manager of Exide’s corporate communications.
“It is very early in this battery’s life,” he said.
Total research and development expenses needed to develop fully the dual-graphite battery technology are unknown at present, but they could be significant, Exide said.
“While returns on this kind of technological investment are not immediate, our right to control the marketing and sales of this technology through a wide range of use is an outstanding long-term opportunity,” said Robert Lutz, chairman and chief executive officer of Exide.
