US car-battery manufacturer faces setbacks

Nature : A leading manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles is facing financial and production woes. Founded in 2001, A123 Systems of Waltham, Massachusetts, is a relative newcomer amid such large, well-established battery makers as LG Chem of Seoul, NEC of Tokyo, and Panasonic. In addition, the market for electric vehicles has not grown as rapidly as was expected, partly because of the expense of the batteries, which can amount to half the cost of the vehicles. To make matters worse, the company suffered a major setback earlier this year when it had to recall and replace $55 million worth of defective batteries. Listed in 2011 as one of the 50 most innovative companies by Technology Review magazine, A123 is investigating new technologies and materials to cut the costs of production.