AES Corp. Invests $3 Million In Altairnano

In a recent press release Altairnano (Nasdaq: ALTI) announced that it had received a $3 million investment from AES Corporation (NYSE: AES).

AES privately purchased 895,523 treasury shares of Altair common stock at $3.35 per share. The purchased shares represent approximately 1.5% of Altair’s outstanding common shares. AES Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the generation and distribution of electric power.

inside greentech had a good summary of Altairnano's latest activities. There is a particularly good interview with Altairnano's CEO Alan Gotcher in which he explains how technology from such a small company could produce such a revolutionary product. Thats for you to read, but one item was this:

In a 10 minute or less charge, at least 480 volts at several hundred amps will be required, transferring 210 kW/h of energy to the battery pack. ...

Altairnano is working with AeroVironment of Monrovia, California, which has worked in rapid battery charge systems for a number of years. The company was the primary supplier of the charging systems for the General Motors (GM) EV1 vehicle.

How would service stations of the future store the mammoth amounts of electricity required by electric vehicles? Altairnano's Gotcher says the company "hasn't really said a lot about that yet, but you'll see us come forward with information in the second quarter."

Previous coverage of Altairnano includes the following articles: Altairnano Ships First Battery Order to Phoenix Motorcars; Phoenix Installs and Tests 35KWh Altairnano Battery; Altairnano Reveals Battery Pack Details; Altair Nanobattery Life Breakthrough.

I guess I must be a fan of Altair's technology.

Thanks to Rob Day at Cleantech Investing for the tip.

ALTI 1-yr chart: