ENER1, Inc. has agreed to sell $55 million of senior unsecured notes, together with shares of common stock and warrants, to certain investment funds, led by funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. In addition, the company also announced the sale of $10 million in senior convertible notes to strategic partner ITOCHU Corporation.

This follows a $65 million investment from principal shareholder Ener1 Group in June of this year, and a $20 million investment from ITOCHU Corporation in December, 2009. The sale of the senior notes is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed on or before 8 September 2010. Ener1 will use these funds along with its grant from the United States Department of Energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, for general operating expenditures and to help pursue its intended manufacturing plans to install 260 MW, or capacity for 11,000 electric vehicle battery packs, at its three Indianapolis facilities.

The principal of the notes is payable in 10 equal quarterly installments with a coupon of 8.25 percent. The first such installment is due on January 2011. The notes provide Ener1 with the option of paying principal and interest entirely in cash or, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, in stock, or a combination of cash and stock.

The company is required to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the resale of shares of common stock delivered in payment of principal and interest installments. JMP Securities LLC acted as the exclusive placement agent for the transaction.

RWE, Linde and BASF report that tests in a pilot plant at RWE’s Niederaussem power station near Cologne of new chemical solvents for capturing carbon dioxide from flue gas reduce the required energy input by about 20%. (Earlier post.) The new solvents also feature clearly superior oxygen stability, which reduces solvent consumption significantly.

The practical tests met all of the expectations we had after lab-testing the new solvent. This paves the way for scaling up the process to large power plants.

—Dr. Andreas Northemann, Business Manager, Global Gas Treatment, BASF Intermediates division.

The three companies started up the pilot plant in August 2009; it is part of the Coal Innovation Center of RWE Power. BASF is testing the newly developed carbon capture process based on improved solvents in the course of this cooperation announced in 2007. Linde was responsible for pilot plant engineering and construction.

Now the partners are working on solutions for demonstration and large-scale power plants. First demonstration plants are scheduled to come on stream in 2015, and CO₂ capture is expected to be used commercially in coal-fired power stations by 2020. This technology should allow more than 90% of the carbon dioxide contained in the waste gas of a power plant to be captured for subsequent sub-surface storage or for chemical transformation, for example to give fertilizers.

UPS has begun a 90-day demonstration trial of the Electric Vehicles International (EVI) walk-in van (EVI-WI). The EVI-WI is built on a Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) glider equipped with a Utilimaster body. (Earlier post.)

Over the past year, EVI and UPS have worked together to develop a vehicle to meet the needs of the parcel delivery service industry. Earlier this year, EVI received California Air Resource Board (CARB) approval for the EVI-WI. Customers who purchase the EVI-WI can take advantage of a $20,000 CARB rebate through the Hybrid Truck and Bus Incentive Project (HVIP).

The 90-day demonstration process with UPS will be split into three 30-day, smaller demonstrations in vastly different regional locations. The vehicle demonstration will begin in Sacramento, followed by San Francisco and concluding in Reno.

The drivetrain for the EVI-WI combines a 99 kWh Li-ion battery pack from Valence, a 150 kW (continuous), 200 kW (peak electric motor) and a five speed automatic manual transmission with PTO. Expected average range is 90 miles (145 km), and maximum speed is 60 mph (97 km/h).

The Government of Canada has finalized regulations requiring an average renewable fuel content of 5% in gasoline; the regulations comes into effect starting 15 December 2010.

These regulations are one pillar of the Government’s broader Renewable Fuels Strategy. Canada will implement a requirement for 2% renewable content in diesel fuel and heating oil, subject to successful demonstration of technical feasibility under the range of Canadian conditions, which would be put in place by an amendment to the Renewable Fuels Regulations.

When fully implemented, the Strategy’s two regulatory requirements combined with provincial regulations will ensure a total volume of renewable fuel that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to four megatonnes in 2012—about the equivalent of taking one million vehicles off the road.

These regulations are a key initiative in support of the Government of Canada’s commitment to reduce Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020. In addition, the Government of Canada is working with the US towards common North American standards for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and has recently published, draft regulations for vehicle tailpipe emissions under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act that are aligned with those of the US. Building on that successful collaboration, the Government of Canada said it will continue to work with the US to do the same for heavy-duty vehicles.

Resources

• Canada Renewable Fuels Regulations

Novolyte Technologies, a leading manufacturer and supplier of specialty electrolyte materials for lithium-ion battery and energy storage applications, high performance solvents and other specialty chemicals, has signed a definitive agreement with Foosung Co., Ltd., a leading global producer of specialty lithium salts for lithium batteries, to form a new joint venture platform that will create an integrated global producer of lithium battery electrolytes.

The US-based new joint venture entity will retain the Novolyte Technologies name and will be managed by Novolyte’s current management team from its existing Cleveland headquarters. Concurrent with the formation of this joint venture, Novolyte will rename its solvents, phosphines, and custom manufacturing businesses Novolyte Performance Materials, LLC, which will be operated separately by Novolyte’s current management team.

The formation of this joint venture is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010 once Novolyte completes the separation of its Performance Materials business and Foosung completes the requisite governmental approvals in Korea.

Foosung Co., Ltd. is the sole producer in Korea and one of four global producers of high purity Lithium Hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆), a specialty salt used for electrolyte manufacture. In addition to supplying technology to Novolyte, Foosung will invest approximately $30 million in the joint venture and contribute a future lithium salt plant. Novolyte is contributing its energy storage business to the joint venture.

This is an important strategic step for Novolyte and we are delighted to be partnering with Foosung Co. and its leaders. With this venture we feel that Novolyte is now positioned to become the leading global supplier of lithium battery electrolytes, a key performance component in the fast growing market of lithium ion batteries for consumer, automotive and industrial markets.

—John Televantos, a Partner at Arsenal Capital, an investor in Novolyte since 2008

Novolyte is the leading producer of primary (non-rechargeable) and secondary (rechargeable) Lithium electrolyte materials in North America, Europe and Greater China and a leading provider of electrolyte and ultracapacitor solutions worldwide. Novolyte serves its global customer base through its manufacturing facilities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Suzhou, China under the Purolyte brand.

Novolyte received in 2009 a $20.6-million award in stimulus funds for expansion from the Department of Energy under the Recovery Act - Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative, as well as $1.12 million in Ohio Third Frontier funding in collaboration with the Great Lakes Energy Institute at Case Western Reserve University to develop and commercialize advanced electrolyte materials for next-generation Lithium-ion batteries. Both of these awards will be contributed to the joint venture.