Turmoil in the European financial markets has contributed to a nearly two-year delay in the original plans of fortu PowerCell Inc. to build an advanced battery plant in Muskegon Township.
fortu PowerCell Inc./Sidock EngineeringAn artist's drawing of the planned 168,000-square-foot first phase manufacturing facility for fortu PowerCell Inc. Construction on Whitehall in Muskegon Township won't begin until at least summer.
A company spokeswoman said construction that most recently was expected to begin last fall has been delayed to this summer “at the earliest” and battery production would not start until early 2014.
The company's progress toward building a Muskegon manufacturing plant has been slowed by financial conditions in Europe, but fortu officials want to move ahead deliberately to establish an operation in Muskegon that will be sustainable for years to come, according to spokeswoman Deb Muchmore.
In the meantime, the fortu Holding AG board of directors has appointed Albert Esser as the company's new chief executive officer to replace Alan Greenshields, who will remain on the company's board.[...]
The fortu PowerCell battery system is a Germany technology advancement of the rechargeable lithium battery based on a “proprietary, non-flammable electrolyte,” the company states.
Research and development began in Karlsruhe, Germany, and led to a pilot production facility in Dormagen, Germany, in 2009. The Muskegon Township plant is expected to produce large battery cells for transportation and stationary storage applications, not necessarily automobile batteries, according to the company.
In Dormagen, the company located in a German-style “chemical park” developed by Bayer AG, which has a Bayer CropScience manufacturing plant in Muskegon Township. The fortu PowerCell facility is the first planned for a Bayer industrial park adjacent to its local plant, where the Swiss-German company has purchased 11.5 acres of land and cleared it for construction.[...]
The Basel, Switzerland-based research and development company had originally hoped to have had its manufacturing plant built in Muskegon Township and operating by now, according to an initial plan given to state officials in mid-2009.[...]
With no battery production being accomplished by the tax year ending Jan. 1, the company is no longer eligible for up to $40 million in tax credits, according to the specially approved legislation. State law allows for an additional $95 million in tax credits for production activity, investments and job creation through the beginning of 2015
Otro fabricante más de módulos, en este caso proveniente del imperio yankee. En este caso el fabricante apuesta por la modularidad basada en un modelo de celda único de 3,7 V 4,4 Ah con potencia de descarga de aprox. 3C, que se trata básicamente de dos celdas 18650 de 2200 mAh conectadas en paralelo en un sólo encapsulado. Muchas de las apuestas de los fabricantes para el desarrollo de la batería de tracción para el coche eléctrico optan por este tipo de celdas de bajas capacidades, con su configuración en paralelado correspondiente para obtener la autonomía deseada. Esto facilita la labor de producción al dar solución a todo tipo de aplicaciones con un sólo modelo de celda, construyendo el pack acorde a los requisitos. Frente a celdas de mayor potencia y capacidad, esta solución requiere un control de balanceo más complejo, pero también una mayor seguridad ante posibles situaciones de peligro, ya que no es lo mismo una posible fuga debido a un malfuncionamiento de las seguridades en una celda de 4,4 Ah que en una celda de 30-40 Ah. Hagan apuestas! cada fabricante está haciendo las suyas. Veremos quienes se llevan el gato al agua ... o el gato más grande.
