Wishpond
Trending >

Obama + Electrovaya = New York Jobs

Mississauga's Electrovaya recently received $4.49 million in stimulus funds as part of a $38.2 million grant to Chrysler.
Mississauga's Electrovaya recently received $4.49 million in stimulus funds as part of a $38.2 million grant to Chrysler.

Once almost completely unknown, Electrovaya (TSX:EFL) is a Canadian company that is beginning to compete on the world stage. And lately, they are getting a little help from Barack Obama. In mid-2009, shares of the Mississauga based maker of lithium-ion batteries, were going for barely $.20 cents. So what’s behind the recent run-up in Electrovaya shares, a move that has seen the company’s market capitalization rise to near a quarter-billion dollars?

The long answer is a more than a decade’s worth of pioneering work and 150 patents on its lithium ion battery technology. The short answer is Chrysler. On March 24, Electrovaya announced that it had been selected by Chrysler to supply the battery for a hybrid version of the Dodge Ram pickup. The Company also appointed former Chrysler CEO (and Windsor Ontario native) Tom Lasorda to help guide them through the process.

Click here to learn more about Cantech Letter's November sponsor, Ottawa's MOSAID Technologies (TSX:MSD), one of the world's leading intellectual property (IP) companies.

Recently, Electrovaya won a $4.49 million grant through the Energy Department to develop advanced technologies for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, or PHEVs, for Chrysler. This has at least one American happy for Canadian developed technology.

“I’m happy Obama spent the money,” said George Olivares, who is technical coordinator for an Electrovaya branch in Saratoga, New York. “It has given me a job. It has stopped me from moving.”

Olivares says the Malta, NY branch employs just two people now, but plans to expand to a dozen in the near future. Electrovaya was the largest largest of the seven sub-recipients of an overall grant to Chrysler, which was $38.2 million in total.

We Hate Paywalls Too!

At Cantech Letter we prize independent journalism like you do. And we don't care for paywalls and popups and all that noise That's why we need your support. If you value getting your daily information from the experts, won't you help us? No donation is too small.

Make a one-time or recurring donation

About The Author /

Cantech Letter founder and editor Nick Waddell has lived in five Canadian provinces and is proud of his country's often overlooked contributions to the world of science and technology. Waddell takes a regular shift on the Canadian media circuit, making appearances on CTV, CBC and BNN, and contributing to publications such as Canadian Business and Business Insider.
insta twitter facebook

Comment

Leave a Reply