G.E. Expands Reach In Battery Industry
Earlier today, General Electric announced its intention to invest $100 million in a battery factory to be located in upstate New York to produce sodium-based batteries. Last month, the company invested $69 million in A123 systems, a lithium-ion battery producer located in the Boston area. The batteries produced from A123 systems will be directed towards use in automobiles while the sodium-based batteries will have a different application: trains.
G.E. plans to begin commercializing hybrid locomotives in 2010, and the sodium-based battery factory will help them to further develop the technology. Sodium-based batteries are better suited for larger applications like trains because they hold immensely more energy than the lithium-ion batteries found in hybrid cars. However, sodium-ion batteries are too big to be practical in a hybrid car, despite the larger energy capacity, at least with today’s technology. While no exact site has yet been chosen for the factory, G.E. expects to have it completed by 2011.
This announcement from G.E. marks the latest example in a recent trend of big investment in battery technology. With the current federal administration’s position on green power, battery development, along with the potential of federal funding, remains one of the few lucrative parts of the beleaguered economy.
