Why Ener1 Went Bankrupt

Ener1's bankruptcy casts a cloud over the future of Li-ion batteries for EVs

2 min read

Why Ener1 Went Bankrupt

It’s hard to deny that when Ener1 announced that it had built “a pilot nanotechnology-based manufacturing facility to fabricate electrodes for high discharge rate, lithium-ion batteries” that it sounded like we were about to witness a new successful nanotechnology company.

The fate of the company might have been foreseen, however, if one examined the use of this technology for this particular application area—namely Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles( EVs).

What was likely whispered among some battery experts became a bit more public when the US Secretary of Energy, Stephen Chu, implied over a year ago that the Li-ion battery might not be the best solution for powering EVs.

Just to be clear, I would like to see some technology replace the internal combustion engine for powering automobiles. I just don’t think it’s clear that the Li-ion battery is the best alternative.

It would seem that the marketplace agreed. In announcing its Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday, Ener1’s CEO, Alex Sorkin, acknowledged, “Our business plan was impacted when demand for lithium-ion batteries slowed due to lower-than-expected adoption for electric passenger vehicles."

If I may turn Mr. Sorkin’s assessment around somewhat, it might be that there are customers for electric passenger vehicles but those vehicles need to have the same level of functionality as the fossil-fuel-powered variety and come in at the same, or at least competitive, price. So, come up with a power source that does that and the demand for electric vehicles is there, especially at the current price for gasoline. It may be that the demand for EVs exists, just not for Li-ion-battery-powered EVs.

The Chapter 11 debt restructuring will allow the company to recapitalize itself to the tune of $81 million, but one has to wonder what $81 million will accomplish that a matching grant of $118 million from the US government couldn’t.

It seems accepted wisdom that technologies currently exist for eliminating a fossil-fuel economy and that just acts of will—including capital investment—will simply make this happen. But perhaps we’re not as far along as we imagine in the technological struggle or in the strategic application of capital to bring those technologies to market.

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