Today Is Dark For GM, Bright For Boston Power
Jun 1st, 2009 Originally Posted by Yoni Levinson
The American vehicle is entering a new era. On the same day that GM is waving the white flag by announcing its bankruptcy, Boston Power – a maker of lithium-ion batteries – announces that it will build its next big plant on American soil. Boston Power’s batteries will hopefully one day find their way into electric vehicles.
Boston Power makes two kinds of batteries –which they call the “Sonata” and the “Swing”. The Sonata is a smaller battery suited for laptops, made famous over this past winter when HP chose to put them in a new line of long-life, green-marketed computers. The Swing is a larger version, intended instead for electric vehicles.
And if you, like Boston Power, are in the business of making electric vehicle parts, it’s definitely an opportune time to ask for government funding. They are already getting $9 million from the State of Massachusetts, and hope to score big with another $100 million from Uncle Sam.
So for the old generation of cars, today is a sad day. It is a day that is going to end careers and threaten the wellbeing of communities. But it’s an exciting day for the new generation of cars. This battery factory will bring hundreds of jobs to Auburn, MA. Hopefully we can reach a point where electric vehicle companies can open up plants which instantly bring economic prosperity to towns, the way GM once did. And not just short term prosperity – the kind built on limited fuels from across the globe, but sustained prosperity – the kind built on renewable power.
Via Boston Globe