The $235,000 grant will be used by International Battery to buy test equipment for its Allentown facility to evaluate the performance of its large-format, prismatic lithium-ion storage system under conditions that simulate actual electrical load profiles for large hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).
The test equipment will also enable the company to configure its modular battery system as per customer-specific requirements, including retrofit applications, in order to address a broad spectrum of HEV bus manufacturers and vehicle sizes, each with different space and energy requirements.
The test equipment purchased with this AFIG grant will also allow International Battery to expedite the design and validation of these battery systems, thereby reducing the time needed to get an HEV bus on the road.
International Battery executive vice president of business development and engineering David McShane said that the company is pleased to receive the AFIG grant to further its commercialization of lithium-ion battery systems for larger alternative fueled vehicles.
"Coupled with active cell balancing, the lithium-ion technology enables optimal usage of the battery, allowing better system energy density. This grant is an important step to capitalizing on the full potential of our large-format prismatic lithium-ion cells for large HEV applications," McShane said.
