Projects

Leyden Energy Grant for Predevelopment and Development of the Infrastructure Necessary to Establish a California-Based Manufacturing Facility for Advanced Lithium Ion Batteries for Electric Drive Vehicles

Leyden Energy, Inc., a battery developer and manufacturer based in Alameda County, will develop and test new Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for electric vehicles and to set up a production line at its Fremont Technical Center.

Leyden Energy has patented technology that makes its batteries tolerant of high temperatures and high levels of abuse, characteristics much needed in electric vehicles. Using this Energy Commission award, the company will refine its battery designs that are flexible enough to incorporate all current lithium ion technologies, allowing integration of higher performing components as they develop. Leyden is striving to be cost-competitive with overseas battery manufacturers.

Currently the company can assemble 300 Li-ion cells a day. The large battery systems in electric vehicles, however, require thousands of cells, making batteries the single most expensive component in an electric vehicle, accounting for up to 50 percent of the purchase price. This grant will help Leyden Energy create a production line capable assembling its Li-ion cells into 10 battery packs per month for its partner in the project, electric vehicle manufacturer Green Vehicles of Salinas, at a price competitive with overseas battery manufacturers.

Grant Amount

$2,962,743

Match Funding

The project team will provide $2,963,000 to match the Energy Commission funding.

Project Participants

Leyden Energy is a privately held venture capital-funded company incorporated in 2007 in California to develop technology acquired from DuPont. Since 2007, Leyden has installed a fully operational pilot line capable of assembling 300 lithium-ion cells per day.

Green Vehicles is an electric vehicle manufacturer that was founded in 2006 and operates out of Salinas. They have taken their electric freeway commuter vehicle from concept to commercial pilot in just over two years. Green Vehicles also is a recipient of funding from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Transportation Program.

Project Benefits

This investment in clean energy jobs will help California build a network of manufacturers across the state who can produce the next generation of electric vehicles and their components. Leyden Energy estimates this project will create 11 technical and production jobs immediately, with another 500 being added at its Fremont headquarters and a future commercial-scale production facility planned for Salinas.

Each battery pack that goes into a light-duty electric vehicle is expected to reduce petroleum use by 575 gallons per year and reduce the resulting greenhouse gas emissions by 72 percent.