印第安纳波利斯的电池创新企业Ener1公司找到了一个大的副业 - 为俄罗斯电网提供备份设备。
长期为电动汽车提供电源的Ener1公司现在开设了一个分支建造4000万美元合同金额的固定电池系统。该系统在俄罗斯陈旧的电网发生电力短缺时，为一些城市和城镇提供应急电源。
在联邦政府资助新建的Mount Comfort工厂的工人们已在组装锂离子电池。今年将为出口订单提供10个集装箱的高科技储能单元。
在交易中值得注意的是，Ener1公司的电池将提供备份服务的黑海度假城市索契，是俄罗斯2014年冬季奥运会的承办地。如果该市的常规供电系统无法满足需求，那么巨大的储能电池将自动开启供电。
“这些被认为是试点项目，”Ener1公司总裁布鲁斯柯蒂斯谈这4000万美元的订单。他还指出，俄罗斯更新其庞大的电网时将有更多的商业机会。
Ener1公司的前身是EnerDel，为插电式混合动力车和电动车供应锂离子电池。它去年从美国能源部获得了1.185亿美元的绿色汽车津贴。Ener1公司的客户包括沃尔沃，中国的万向电动车有限公司，以及挪威汽车制造商Think。
Indianapolis battery innovator Ener1 has found a big side business -- backing up Russia's power grid.
Long associated with powering electric cars, Ener1 is branching out with a $40 million deal for stationary battery systems designed to furnish emergency power for a handful of cities and towns when Russia's creaky electric grid falls short.
Workers at the new federally financed Mount Comfort plant, just east of Indianapolis, have been assembling the lithium-ion batteries to fill an export order this year for more than 10 container loads of the high-tech energy storage units.
Notable in the deal: Ener1's batteries will back up the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia's site for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The huge batteries would automatically release energy into the power lines if the city's regular system can't handle the demand for electricity.
"These are considered pilot projects," Ener1 executive Bruce Curtis said of the $40 million order, noting more business is expected as Russia updates its vast electric grid.
Ener1, formerly called EnerDel, was created to supply lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and plug-in hybrids. It received a $118.5 million green-car grant last year from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Instead of turning to the upstart Indianapolis company, major automakers have largely tapped established Asian and European battery suppliers. Ener1's automotive battery customers include a bevy of smaller makes -- Volvo, China's Wanxiang Electric Vehicle Co., and Think, a Norwegian carmaker.