Johnson Controls to nearly triple its investment in stop-start battery tech

Johnson Controls to nearly triple its investment in stop-start battery tech: "

Filed under: Hybrid, Germany, USA

U.S. automotive supplier Johnson Controls says that, over the next two years, it will nearly triple its investment in two German facilities that manufacture batteries for vehicles equipped with stop-start technology. Alex Molinaroli, head of the Johnson Controls' automotive battery division, told Reuters that, 'We will invest 275 million euros ($389 million U.S. at the current exchange rate) in our battery plants in Hanover and Zwickau.'



According to Johnson Controls, stop-start technology can reduce a vehicle's fuel consumption by up to 12 percent. It's this benefit that has automakers racing to equip their vehicles with stop-start tech and Johnson Controls upping its investment to pump out more batteries. Molinaroli says that 80 percent of vehicles sold in Europe will be equipped with this fuel-saving system by 2016 and claims that, since batteries are still too costly, pure electric vehicles won't be mass produced until 2025. We have to assume he means on a bigger scale than, say, the Nissan Leaf and all the other EVs that are coming soon.



[Source: Ward's Auto - sub. req.]

Johnson Controls to nearly triple its investment in stop-start battery tech originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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