From: Navitas Systems, LLC Contact: Thomas Golab (630) 755-7920 tgolab@www.navitassys.com
Woodridge, IL – February 25, 2012 – Navitas Systems LLC (www.navitassys.com), a leading provider of energy-enabled system solutions and energy storage products for commercial, industrial and government agency customers, announced today that its Advanced Solutions Group (ASG) has become affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR).
JCESR, (www.jcesr.org), located on the nearby campus of DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory outside of Chicago, is a major public-private partnership that combines the research and development capabilities of five national laboratories with four companies, five research universities, as well as a collection of selected affiliate organizations, to develop energy storage technologies that supersede lithium-ion-based technologies for transportation and large-scale energy applications.
The Navitas ASG staff is comprised of the former A123 Systems Advanced Research and Development team, A123 Government Solutions group, and selected engineers from the A123 Automotive Engineering Team. Navitas announced on January 29th that it had finalized its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of A123 Systems’ former Ann Arbor, Michigan-based government business, including U.S. military contracts. This acquisition enabled Navitas to keep intact all of the world-class scientists and engineers necessary to develop and commercialize Nanophosphate lithium-ion battery chemistry and other advanced battery technologies being developed for critical military and government applications.
“We’re delighted to be associated with our neighbor JCESR,” said Alan ElShafei, Navitas Systems Chairman and Founder. “Using the brainpower of our combined scientific and engineering teams, Navitas and JCESR will have the opportunity to collaborate to push the envelope on energy storage technology R&D. We’re absolutely committed to helping build the next generation of advanced battery technologies here in the U.S.”
Dr. George Crabtree, Director of the JCESR program at Argonne National Laboratories, said, “We welcome Navitas as an Affiliate organization of JCESR. Given both their proximity to our campus and their competencies ranging from cell design to pack assembly, Navitas could become an excellent collaborator to help us bridge between lab scale and commercial scaling of advanced batteries.”
Les Alexander, Navitas ASG General Manager, said, “I’m pleased to name Dr. Michael Wixom to be Navitas’ point person driving the collaborative efforts between Navitas and JCESR. Given his expertise and his longstanding relationships with others associated with JCESR, Mike will hit the ground running and make an immediate impact”.
Dr. Wixom has a long and distinguished career in advanced battery research and development. Previously he was the Sr. Technical Director of the Advanced Research and Government Solutions Group (ARGS) of A123 Systems. The ARGS was formed upon the acquisition of T/J Technologies, of which Dr. Wixom was a co-founder. In his 15 years with A123 Systems and T/J Technologies, Dr. Wixom has led several programs to develop advanced electrode materials for lithium batteries, ultra-capacitors, and fuel cells. He has authored 18 papers and is a co-inventor on six issued patents assigned for electrode materials and processing for rechargeable lithium batteries, fuel cells, and ultra-capacitors.
About Navitas Systems, LLC
Navitas Systems, founded in 2010 and previously known as MicroSun Innovative Energy Storage Solutions (“IESS”), is a woman-owned small business headquartered in Woodridge Illinois. Located in a state-of-the-art 100,000 square feet facility-with local and offshore partners and solid financial stability, Navitas is well positioned to continue serving major worldwide customers.
What drives Navitas is the passion for bridging the gap between customer challenges and environmentally and financially sustainable solutions. Navitas Systems is a leader in integrated design, technology development, and manufacturing, providing energy-enabled system solutions and energy storage products for commercial, industrial and government agency customers. Navitas products range from customized energy storage solutions for motive, idle-reduction, and defense related applications, along with custom renewable energy integrated power systems, to standard products like lithium based lead-acid replacement batteries. For more information visit www.navitassys.com and follow @Navitas_Systems on Twitter.
