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Print Edition StoriesMonday, April 13, 2009
A123 Systems lands $15M funding from GE
By Mass High Tech staff
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Watertown-based A123 Systems Inc. has announced a $15 million investment from GE Energy Financial Services and GE Capital Equity to expand the company’s lithium ion battery manufacturing and smart grid capabilities in the U.S. The investment brings GE’s total of seven funding events in A123 to about $70 million, giving the firm more than a 10 percent share of the battery maker’s ownership.
The investment in A123 will support new jobs at the company’s existing facilities in Hopkinton and in Novi, Mich., as well as its new factories under construction in Michigan. The new plants, for which A123 is currently seeking additional financing from federal and state stimulus funds, will be used to produce battery systems for hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles.
A123 announced last week that it was chosen to supply energy storage systems for Chrysler LLC’s first-generation ENVI range-extended electric vehicles and battery-only electric vehicles.
Founded in 2001, A123Systems has raised more than $102 million in private funding from an array of investors, including Alliance Capital, FA Technology Ventures, North Bridge Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, OnPoint, General Electric, MIT, Motorola, Qualcomm and Desh Deshpande, the company’s chairman. Its technology stems from research conducted at MIT and funded initially in 2001 by a $100,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant.
Last summer, A123Systems filed documents for a $175 million initial public offering but has yet to price and execute the offering.
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