Intel to manufacture advanced batteries for electric vehicles?

Articles — By forcechange on December 12, 2008 11:33 am

We firmly believe that Detroit and America cannot go green without advancements in battery technology.  Any electric vehicle network must be built upon advanced battery technologies, and as we’ve noted before, if the current state of laptop and cell phone batteries are any indication, we’ve still got a long way to go. 

However, not only do we need advancements in battery technology, we also need to build a domestic battery industry.  It is not a great strategy to trade one foreign dependency (oil) for another (batteries).  Right now, “virtually all advanced nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and lithium ion (Li-ion) production is done overseas, mainly in China, Japan and Korea.”

Therefore, it is of great interest to see in the WSJ on Friday that former Intel Corp. chairman Andrew Grove is advocating that the company enter the business of manufacturing advanced batteries for plug-in electric cars. (sub req)

Grove, who retired in 2005 but still advises his old company, is urging current CEO Paul Otellini to expand into this sector.  Currently, Chinese and Japanese companies, such as BYD Motors, Panasonic Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd., are positioning themselves to dominate the emerging advanced battery industry.  Intel, which has an incredible reputation for innovation and manufacturing prowess, could prove to be a viable domestic answer to these foreign suppliers.

While it is unclear whether Intel intends to follow Grove’s advice, moving into the EV battery sector would be a radical shift.  The capital and human resource transformation would be significant– ranging from hiring battery experts to investing in new factories. But if Intel can pull it off, it could position them to continue their legacy of supplying the hardware that drives cutting edge technology.