Firefly Energy, Inc. announced that it has signed a manufacturing contract with C&D Technologies, Inc. to produce Firefly’s new microcell foam battery, the Oasis. The contract calls for the establishment of a manufacturing partnership between the two companies to produce Firefly-designed battery products in the Group 29/31 size for the trucking and off- highway equipment markets. The new batteries will be available beginning in the first quarter of 2009.
Firefly will provide microcell foam technology components, and C&D will manufacture the battery in their Milwaukee facility. Firefly CEO Ed Williams called the new C&D relationship a “critical addition to our manufacturing and commercialization strategies, which expands the availability of our award-winning battery technology.”
In 2007, Firefly’s battery technology was recognized worldwide with awards in the Energy category for Technology Innovation from the Wall Street Journal and the “R&D 100” from R&D Magazine.
According to Firefly, the company’s battery products and their patented microcell technology will deliver to battery markets a level of performance achieved with advanced battery chemistries (Nickel Metal Hydride and Lithium) but at one-fifth the cost. Firefly’s microcell battery products can be manufactured as well as recycled within the existing lead acid battery industry’s vast infrastructure. The new Oasis battery, they note, is capable of almost double the run time and life of traditional lead-acid batteries, and enables significant economic payback as well as compliance with recent anti-idling legislation.
In June, Firefly announced that it had completed a $15-million Series C equity round of financing led by a strategic group of Clean-Tech investors--Quercus Trust, Khosla Ventures, and Infield Capital. The new investors joined existing Firefly Energy investors Caterpillar, BAE Systems, Husqvarna, KB Partners, the Illinois Finance Authority, and the Tri-County Venture Capital Fund. In August, the company dedicated a new 40,000-square-ft. world headquarters in Peoria, IL.
