AEA Technology announces new £2 million Lithium-ion battery recycling project
09th December 2003
AEA Technology ('AEAT'), the parent company of AEA Battery Systems - the leading provider of portable power solutions to the defence sector - today announces the launch of a £2 million facility in Scotland to develop world-beating technology for the recycling of Lithium-ion batteries. The project, which will be based in Golspie in the North East of Scotland, will be 55 per cent funded by The Scottish Executive and the remainder by AEAT.
The facility will be the first of its kind in the UK, and extends further the complete portable power solutions capability which AEA Battery Systems offers to its customers. Offering customers a unique cradle to grave service through the management of entire portable power fleets could lead to reduced costs and effort in battery management and logistics, ultimately resulting in risk reduction for the customers.
Andrew McCree, Group Managing Director of AEA Technology, said:
"We believe the new recycling plant will be a strong, profitable niche business. It will be the only one of its kind in Europe and we believe it will attract considerable interest as new environmental regulations take effect.
"Using the expertise and technical know-how of our people and the experience we have gained in developing the next generation of Lithium-ion batteries, we are confident that we can position AEAT at the forefront of battery recycling."
Under environmental regulations due to be introduced in 2005, battery manufacturers/equipment suppliers will be increasingly responsible for the recycling of their batteries. At present, Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are shipped to France where they are incinerated and material recovery is limited.
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Further Information
For further information contact:
Adrian Chitty/Louise Ellis, Good Relations, 020 7861 3030, or .
Notes to editors:
AEA Battery Systems
AEA Battery Systems designs, develops and manufactures the world's most advanced portable power systems for markets where performance and reliability are critical. Its reputation and world-leading Lithium-ion cell technology derives from its role in the invention of Lithium-ion technology and its partnership with Japanese battery experts, Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. Among the company's 180 employees in the UK are some of the world's leading scientists in Lithium-ion technology. AEA Battery Systems currently has bases in Thurso, Caithness, Glengarnock, near Glasgow and Culham, Oxfordshire.
AEA Battery Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of AEA Technology plc.
AEA Technology
AEA Technology is a technology and consultancy-based business, which has built on its UK public sector strength to develop increasingly in the UK private sector and abroad. It focuses on two growth markets, Rail and Environment, to which it provides customers with a portfolio of advanced technology consultancy, products and services. In addition, AEA Technology has a portfolio of other developing businesses, among which is AEA Battery Systems.
Military market applications
The current UK military battlefield communications system, Clansman, relies on traditional Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries, which do not have the same advanced performance characteristics. The Lithium-ion Kaizen cell, which will be used in the BOWMAN system, will enable portable radios, handheld computers, GPS and encryption devices to last longer and function in extreme environments while weighing substantially less - all critical factors in modern battlefield conditions.
For military forces to operate successfully in hostile unfamiliar terrain, often in small units and effectively isolated from others, the importance of secure and reliable communication as well as accurate location position is critical. The Kaizen Cell meets the requirements of modern warfare.
It operates in the most adverse conditions (+75 degrees centigrade and - 51 degrees centigrade). The cell has been designed specifically to meet the extreme requirements of rugged applications and thanks to its hermetic sealing and no memory effect, even after periods of inactivity, it will still deliver full performance.
The temperature performance of the Cell will end the practice of "shirt stuffing" whereby the existing NiCd battery is carried next to the skin in an attempt to keep it warm. In addition, AEA's Lithium-ion batteries are one-third the weight and one-third the size of those currently used by the British military man-pack radio, reducing the pack weight of the soldier and improving his ability to perform covertly. Overall the key advantage offered by AEA's Lithium-ion battery to the military is to create 'less stress for tired soldiers' by creating a battery that soldiers can have confidence will work regardless of the conditions.
The benefits to customers, both military and non-military, of AEA's Lithium-ion cell technology is its reliability, increased performance and life cycle which means customers will have to buy fewer cells, giving a tremendous cost benefit. AEA's Kaizen and Chikara cells have a cycle life in excess of 1200 charge and discharge cycles. This is typically three to four times better than that of other currently available cells.
Non-military market applications
AEA Battery Systems can supply very advanced battery technology, packaged into intelligent systems specifically suited to customers' requirements and enabling them to make their products world beating.
For mobile medical equipment where reliability and dependability are of paramount importance, and compact size aids use and transportation, AEA's Lithium-ion batteries are the ideal choice due to their high power to weight ratio and their rugged laser welded construction. Indeed AEA's Lithium-ion Kaizen cell is already being used in devices for artificial hearts.
AEA's Lithium-ion batteries also bring portability and reliable performance to the increasing array of communications equipment being deployed in Homeland Security operations.
In the marine market, in particular the sub-sea environment which is extremely hostile, equipment has to operate autonomously for long periods of time and totally reliably. Size is also a key factor. Again, the Kaizen cell, with its high energy density and reliability proven from widespread land based applications, is the ideal battery type for this equipment. The Kaizen cell has already been used in the growing market for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for which its high performance and rugged construction have made it particularly suitable.
The use of Lithium-ion batteries is also being exploited in the space sector where the combination of reliability, low mass, low volume, high specific energy, high energy density and high thermal efficiency specifically address the market needs.
The Kaizen cells are manufactured by AGM Batteries, which is based at AEA Battery Systems state-of-the-art factory in Thurso, Scotland. AGM Batteries is owned by AEA Technology [60%], Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd [22%] and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation [18%]. AEA Technology provides the technological expertise, Japan Storage the production technology expertise and Mitsubishi Materials the materials expertise.
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