Petition A123 Systems for factory access

[arkmundi]

Please sign the petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/a12...livonia-mi-factory-for-small-business-access#. Thank you!

 

[arkmundi]

I live in Massachusetts, just down the road from A123 Systems. I've been trying for some time to get access to their nanophosphate cells, as a small businessman, wanting to make use of their tech to advance light electric vehicles, solar storage and related enterprises. The total combined potential across these sectors, including all here at Endless-sphere, I believe exceeds any single auto manufacturer, including GM. The future is not in large and heavy, but in small, light and distributed. We should collectively crack the shell around this company until we see the juicy kernal. I have opened communications with their Vice President for commercial applications and would like to ride my ebike to their corporate headquarters with a petition in hand.

 

[arkmundi]

brilliant initiative, good job, well done, great work. signed.

... only if it works! http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...-20120822_1_a123-battery-maker-battery-demand

A123 gets delisting notice from Nasdaq
(Reuters) - A123 Systems Inc , a lithium-ion battery maker backed by a $249 million U.S. government grant, received notice from the Nasdaq this week that its stock price is too low for exchange standards and will be delisted if it does not recover to $1 in the next six months.

A123 said in a securities filing on Wednesday that it has until February 19 to increase its share price back to $1, which it breached more than a month ago.

The stock closed at a lifetime low of 37 cents on the Nasdaq on Wednesday and has dropped more than 90 percent from its 12-month high in September 2011, hurt by the company's worsening cash position due to slower-than-expected demand and a pricey battery recall this year.

So, the plan is for the American people to rescue this company by force of will. Step 1: everybody buys shares on the cheap. Step 2: get that factory window open for small business. Step 3: make the cells pervasive to the clean tech & green economy. Step 4: sit back and watch the stock price double, triple .... and we all benefit.

 

[IBScootn]

Signed and sent to 15 others

Good luck,

 

[torqueon]

I signed the petition and pitched my bitch ! Like

You could recoup and make money

Learn from many DIY's guy's

Spur local economies

I suggest through in your 2 cents, it can't hurt ! Kind of like voting these days L O L!

 

[torqueon]

As for my self, am working on a electric moped to keep up with local traffic, and A123's come to mind. However no sure sources as of yet.

 

[EVDragRacer]

I will sign the petition. I will not buy any shares, I lost a ton of money in A123, gained a ton of money when I bought Tesla stock the morning they IPO.

I have heard from Bill Dube that A123 has produced a new cell 36grams that can produce 500amps, anyone know of this product?

 

[ohzee]

signed - good idea , but people in high places in my experience seem to lack rational thinking.

anyway I wish the best

 

[Sancho's Horse]

I am posting a link to my facebook. I like people who do it now, rather than complain later.

 

[deVries]

Do NOT invest in A123 at this time. This company is headed for "takeover restructure" by total stock dilution of current common shares making your investment worthless or a far less tiny fraction than what you paid. OR, more likely, this company will go into receivership and all current common shareholders will lose their money.

ONLY buy shares AFTER company is reorganized AND comes out the other side AFTER current common shares are liquidated. I think A123 definitely survives, but I don't think [know] its common stock does not survive as it is now...

Hobby or Home Buider EV buyers of A123 cells will NOT cause A123 to survive. That is definitely grandiose thinking on our ES wishful thinking part, imo.

A123 needs industry scale volume sales to survive medium to long-term. It will need to be on "life support" for 3-5 years by major finance investors that understand its real value long-term.

 

[arkmundi]

Respectfully, this thread is about people who, because of the significant investment in this company by the American people, expect access to its product, that has proven itself in the context of light electric vechicles. "Hobbyist" are only one component, what I'd call tinkerers, people who experiment around with stuff and sometimes produce marketable goods & services. Apple Computer, now the most valued corporation in history started out in a garage that way.

I find it bizarre that in order to access the A123 cells, I needed to buy recycled cells from Hong Kong, cells stamped "Made in the USA", from a company headquartered in my backyard. The Petition is to open up a factory window. Of all the assets that will be ongoing through whatever restructuring might occur, it will be the factory. Production will continue. The need for access will continue. The petition and its "hopeful" goal are good. I'll never myself denigrate the hopeful, the dreamer, the visionary.

 

[Sancho's Horse]

Investment in A123 is a bad idea for anyone other than institutional investors who understand the risk (likely bad for them as well). That being said, I am in complete agreement that as tax payers, who are major investors in the company, there needs to be some level of access for developers. Having this access is a boon to our industry. I know of no other nation where elements of publicly financed manufacturing are cut off from developers who would benefit. It is symptomatic of a major problem with developing American industry: bankers. They have their place, but putting them at the front of the line is not conducive to a robust environment, in fact, it often sets up failure. Manufacturing belongs to developers, engineers, and skilled technicians, not bankers.

 

[liveforphysics]

Respectfully, this thread is about people who, because of the significant investment in this company by the American people, expect access to its product, that has proven itself in the context of light electric vechicles. "Hobbyist" are only one component, what I'd call tinkerers, people who experiment around with stuff and sometimes produce marketable goods & services. Apple Computer, now the most valued corporation in history started out in a garage that way.

I find it bizarre that in order to access the A123 cells, I needed to buy recycled cells from Hong Kong, cells stamped "Made in the USA", from a company headquartered in my backyard. The Petition is to open up a factory window. Of all the assets that will be ongoing through whatever restructuring might occur, it will be the factory. Production will continue. The need for access will continue. The petition and its "hopeful" goal are good. I'll never myself denigrate the hopeful, the dreamer, the visionary.

I think I might know the reason they don't like to sell.

If you look at the public financial numbers, it shows their cost in $/wh to make the cells, I think it's like $1.20 (or something, I'm just pulling numbers from memory), and then shows what they sell for, something like $0.50 per wh. So, if you're selling a product for less than half of what it cost you to make that product, you're likely not into selling much of it.

At the real cost to make the cells, it would be a really hard sale to the hobbyist crowd. If you want to make a 50mile range EV conversion, you could get your batteries from China for $10,000usd, and if you paid what it costs A123 to make them, you're gonna pay ~$24,000usd for the same 50miles of range.

Which brings up another point. When you look at battery costs of say $24,000usd to make a 20kwhr pack for a nice little DIY EV car conversion, you're all ready at the price you can just buy a used Nissan Leaf for on craigslist, and it all ready includes a bigger 24kwhr battery with BMS and everything and it's built into a car with controller and motor and chassis etc.

 

[davec]

(Reuters) - A123 Systems Inc (AONE), a lithium-ion battery maker backed by a $249 million U.S. government grant, received notice from the Nasdaq this week that its stock price is too low for exchange standards and will be delisted if it does not recover to $1 in the next six months.

a123 is 2007 chemistry- by standards it still is a champion today - however they stopped innovating/ doing research. They really haven't done anything within the past few years but waste the grant funds. the product line is slim- other vendors have cells upto 100ah cells - a123 only goes upto 20ah

their marketing/sales/ business skills are poor -i can source cells from Chinese suppliers without any issues/ they have actual sales rep that respond back- a123 has a voice-mail that ignores you

im not surprised the stock went down so low
regardless petition is signed- it would be great to be able to score these cells straight from the factory

 

[arkmundi]

Nice article on the new Nanophosphate EXT battery:
http://insideevs.com/a123-updates-n...batteries-solves-lithium-battery-heat-issues/
Believe that's my next battery, after my AMP20 pack dies.

 

[arkmundi]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2012/09/25/obamacar-bad-karma-for-taxpayers/

Then, because of that stoppage and lagging sales projections, Fisker’s battery supplier, A123 Systems, laid off 125 employees after they received $249.1 million from generous U.S. taxpayers, plus $141 million in State of Michigan tax credits and subsidies. Once touted by former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granhom as another stimulus success, that doesn’t seem to be working out particularly great either. Well, except maybe, for China...
...Fisker’s production delay that resulted in DOE’s loan freeze was largely due to car fires and other problems caused by faulty batteries supplied by A123 Systems. A123, in turn, suffered a big setback when Fisker decreased orders.

Anyway, just confirms that A123 needed the Fisker deal to work out, but it hasn't yet.

The A123 investment plan is drawing scrutiny from some lawmakers. Becca Watkins, the spokeswoman for House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), commented that such a deal “…raises more troubling questions about the direction of this government-led effort,” She added, “This acquisition appears to have been made possible by taxpayer funds made available through the stimulus.”

... and frankly 98 percent of the battery industry today is owned, operated and controlled by companies that are operating out of Korea, Japan and China.”
... If most of the battery industry is already controlled by Asian countries, how are interests of U.S. taxpayers possibly served by transferring technology enhancements they have subsidized at the expense of American competitiveness?

Well, if American taxpayers were provided access to a factory window, then we'd be well served, would we not? It means entrepreneaurs could forge development of LEV's of any ilk, and not just the Fisker's of the world. We'd then have a more meaningful transportation future than what we now have. I just don't see the average American household shoving out $100,000 for a karma.

Unfortunately, however, no one bothered to check with the American public regarding what it wanted.