Valence Technology, Inc. was a company that developed and manufactured
lithium iron phosphate
Lithium iron phosphate or lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a gray, red-grey, brown or black solid that is insoluble in water. The material has attracted attention as a component of lithium iron phosp ...
cathode material as well as lithium ion
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
modules and packs. The modules come in 12 V, 18 V, 24 V, and 36 V configurations. Valence's products are used in
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
and
plug-in hybrid
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
electric vehicles (PHEVs) such as cars, scooters, motorbikes, and commercial vehicles such as buses, delivery vans and trucks. Valence batteries are also used in wheelchairs, medical carts, robotics, marine, rail, as well as stationary applications such as remote power,
uninterruptible power supply
An uninterruptible power supply or uninterruptible power source (UPS) is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source or mains power fails. A UPS differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system ...
(UPS), energy storage systems, frequency regulation and switching gear.
History
Founded in 1989 as a research and development company by Lev Dawson Valence has its headquarters in
Henderson, Nevada
Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...
, and facilities in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, Mallusk,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, and
Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Valence is currently owned by Lithion Battery Inc.
Exports
The company holds an extensive, international patent portfolio of issued and pending lithium phosphate
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
s. Valence manufacturers its cathode material and packs in two wholly owned subsidiaries Valence Energy Tech in
Suzhou, China
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
.
Companies deploying Valence's battery technology include:
*
Segway PT
The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter invented by Dean Kamen and brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, subsequently as the Segway PT, and manufactured by Segway Inc. ''HT'' is an initialism for "human transpo ...
in their Segway Personal Transporter.
* Segway SE-3 Patroller
* PVI – A French Manufacturer developing a range EV platforms exclusively for Renault Trucks, as well as electric buses and other vehicles.
* EVI-USA – A US-based manufacturer developing a range of commercial delivery vehicles, fully electric and hybrid including EviLightTruck
* Enova Systems for the
IC Bus
IC Bus (originally IC Corporation) is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, IC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar International. Established in 2002 by Navistar through the reorganization of subsidiary manufact ...
plug-in hybrid school buses
*
Optare
Switch Mobility (originally called Optare) is an English bus manufacturer based in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Indian company Ashok Leyland. The company would be responsible for the EV operations of the group with ...
Buses
*
Mercedes
Mercedes may refer to:
People
* Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name
Automobile-related
* Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
– providing its lithium battery storage systems for the new Mercedes eVito
*Rubbermaid Medical Carts
Recent events
In 2009 Valence signed development agreements with
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
to develop interfaces for hybrid applications in the marine market, and with S&C Electric to develop solutions for the stationary energy storage market
Valence began to focus on Europe about two years ago, when it realized that automakers there already were launching electric delivery vans and hybrid buses.
Among other customers, Valence this year signed sales deals with
Smith Electric Vehicles
Smith Electric Vehicles (also known as Smith's) is a manufacturer of electric trucks. The company, founded in 1920 in the north of England, moved its headquarters to Kansas City, Missouri in 2011. Smith suspended all operations in 2017.
Smith ...
, a UK maker of electric commercial vans and trucks; PVI, a French manufacturer of electric buses and other vehicles; and Oxygen SpA, an Italian company that makes an electric scooter called Cargoscooter. Companies such as
Modec
Modec was an electric vehicle manufacturer in Coventry, in the United Kingdom, specialising in Commercial vehicles in the N2 category. It unveiled its first model in April 2006 and announced its intention to commence series production in Ma ...
, a UK-based supplier of electric delivery vans, and
Wrightbus
Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman ...
, a UK Wright Group subsidiary that makes double-decker buses, also are testing Valence batteries. Through these relationships, Valence is building connections to large automakers, such as Renault, which is a PVI partner;
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
, which is an Oxygen partner;
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, which is a Wrightbus partner; and
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
and
Isuzu, which are
Smith Electric Vehicles
Smith Electric Vehicles (also known as Smith's) is a manufacturer of electric trucks. The company, founded in 1920 in the north of England, moved its headquarters to Kansas City, Missouri in 2011. Smith suspended all operations in 2017.
Smith ...
partners.
On July 12, 2012, Valence Technology, Inc. voluntarily filed for bankruptcy protection under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas. The company listed approximately $31.5 million in assets and over $82 million in liabilities.
November 13, 2013, Valence emerged from bankruptcy as a private company.
In 2014, Valence entered the marine market by supplying two large battery systems to create a hybrid tug boat.
In 2015, Valence signed a global supply deal with
Exide
Exide was originally a brand name for batteries produced by The Electric Storage Battery Company and later became Exide Corporation doing business as Exide Technologies, an American multinational lead-acid batteries manufacturing company. It ...
.
See also
*
List of companies based in Austin, Texas
This is a list of notable companies based in the Austin metropolitan area.
Fortune 500
(rankings as of 2021)
* Dell Technologies (28)
*Oracle (80)
*Tesla Inc. (100)
Advertising
* Door Number 3
* GSD&M
* LatinWorks
* LIN Media (Media General) ...
*
Lithium iron phosphate
Lithium iron phosphate or lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a gray, red-grey, brown or black solid that is insoluble in water. The material has attracted attention as a component of lithium iron phosp ...
*
Lithium iron phosphate battery
The lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP (lithium ferro-phosphate), or Li-IP) is a type of lithium-ion battery using lithium iron phosphate () as the cathode material, and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing as the anode.
Becaus ...
*
Thermal runaway
Thermal runaway describes a process that is accelerated by increased temperature, in turn releasing energy that further increases temperature. Thermal runaway occurs in situations where an increase in temperature changes the conditions in a way t ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Video of Valence Batteries in Action!Valence TechnologyCorporate web-site
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090620134700/http://www.china-sun.cn/elinkus.asp
Lithium-ion batteries
Battery manufacturers
Electric vehicle battery manufacturers
Defunct technology companies of the United States
Companies established in 1989
Manufacturing companies based in Austin, Texas