Smart Energy News

New York — Ener1, a manufacturer of large lithium-ion battery systems for automotive and utility grid applications, announced on Tuesday that it obtained a $65 million investment commitment from its principal shareholder, Ener1 Group.

Ener1 Group is an investment entity established by the Russian industrialist Boris G. Zingarevich, who has interests in the forest products, commercial real estate development and clean technology industry. Zingarevich currently sits on the board of a joint venture between a Russian manufacturing company he co-founded and International Paper Company, the largest pulp and paper company in the world.

“Even in this difficult capital markets environment, Ener1 has a compelling growth story that is clearly able to attract the type of long term private equity capital needed to scale our business,” said Ener1 chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer. “Further evidence of this ability is reflected by our ongoing discussions with one of our significant shareholders to increase their investment in Ener1 to a level necessary to achieve positive cash flow.”

Ener1, the battery technology developer, was founded in 1985. It employs around 550 people worldwide, and is engaged in designing, developing, and manufacturing rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and battery systems for energy storage in the U.S. and South Korea.

Ener1 has development or supply contracts with the United States Advanced Battery Consortium, an umbrella organization consisting of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, funded by the US Department of Energy and dedicated to collaborative research. The company has additional development contracts with the US Department of Energy and US Department of Defense.

The company’s strategic alliances include Argonne National Laboratory, ITOCHU, and Kyushu Electric Power (KEPCO).

The publicly traded company currently has a market valuation of around $475 million.

http://www.ener1.com

Tags: Ener1, Nasdaq: HEV