Skip to main content
Donate

Bankrupt Electric Car Battery Maker Sold to Chinese Firm

By Chris Clarke
December 10, 2012
Support Provided By
chu-granholm-12-10-12-thumb-600x400-41727

Energy Secretary Steven Chu (left) and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (on right) at the opening of A123's facility in Livonia, MI in September 2010 | Photo: Graham Davis/Flickr/Creative Commons License

The saga of struggling electric car battery pack manufacturer A123 seems to have come to an end, as the firm announced Sunday it will sell most of its assets to the Chinese auto parts firm Wanxiang Group for $256.6 million. A123, whose batteries figured prominently in embarrassing fires in electric cars made by the Anaheim-based firm Fisker, had been in negotiation with Wanxiang to set up and investment-based partnership before filing for bankruptcy in October.

Though the negotiations with Wanxiang were well advanced, A123 nonetheless filed for bankruptcy protection after missing a loan payment in October.

According to Ucilia Wang at Forbes, Wanxiang's American subsidiary won the right to buy most of A123's tech and manufacturing plants at an auction held late last week. Among Wanxiang's rivals in the auction was U.S. firm Johnson Controls, which two months ago seemed a sure contender to pick up A123's technology and facilities after a few members of Congress objected to the possibility of a Chinese firm benefiting from a company that had received $132 million in funding from the Department of Energy.

A123 had also received part of a $2 million grant from the California Energy Commission to develop possible grid power storage.

A significant portion of A123's business lay in contracts with the U.S. government, including the Defense Department. A123 will be selling that part of its portfolio to the Illinois-based firm Navitas for just under $2.3 million.

At this writing, it's unknown what the Anaheim-based electric car manufacturer Fisker will do in response to the breakup and sale of A123, but it'll have to get its lithium ion batteries from somewhere. We'lll keep you posted.

ReWire is dedicated to covering renewable energy in California. Keep in touch by liking us on Facebook, and help shape our editorial direction by taking this quick survey here.

Support Provided By
Read More
An oil pump painted white with red accents stands mid-pump on a dirt road under a blue, cloudy sky with a green, grassy slope in the background.

California’s First Carbon Capture Project: Vital Climate Tool or License to Pollute?

California’s first attempt to capture and sequester carbon involves California Resources Corp. collecting emissions at its Elk Hills Oil and Gas Field, and then inject the gases more than a mile deep into a depleted oil reservoir. The goal is to keep carbon underground and out of the atmosphere, where it traps heat and contributes to climate change. But some argue polluting industries need to cease altogether.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
By Emma Foehringer Merchant, Inside Climate News