The venue for this presentation is particularly interesting: "The Inter-American Development Bank, the leading source of long-term lending for Latin America and the Caribbean, today (April 15, 2010) announced its intention to increase its financing for renewable energy and climate-related projects to $3 billion a year by 2012." http://bit.ly/JZAVJI
Note that Sklar gets around, for example, presenting March 1, 2011 at the Central America Renewable Energy Forum: II "CAREF II will highlight financial programs regional partner countries and investors can take advantage of to encourage U.S. exports of renewable energy technologies as well as efforts in the region to unify the electric grid and broaden renewable energy development. " http://bit.ly/KIOrZ2
Axion Power Concentrator 96: May 4, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Ah, that's very helpful, thanks. This answers a question I recently had, as I've been looking over Furukawa docs and saw references to the 'flooded-type UltraBattery.' I was wondering why on earth they would use a flooded-design. Now we know. Can you add any color on the maintenance routine for flooded and how likely that is to be an important factor in the relevant different apps?
Axion Power Concentrator 97: May 8, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
I found a small PbC project run by The Stella Group:
"To educate the general public (aside from hosting weekly tours of his two zero- energy buildings and four “drop and play” renewable systems at his North Arlington location) TSG retrofitted a Dodge Caravan with a 48 inch all-weather flat screen which hangs on either exterior side of the van. To run the DVD player and the all-weather flat screen, two 450 watt Sanyo SIT photovoltaics panels, a 150 watt Marlec windturbine and a 60 watt Dynglobal flexible PV module – all mounted on the van rooftop. The generated electricity is stored in Axion Power hybrid carbon/supercapacitor batteries and are augmented by a 100 watt ReliOn PEM fuel cell powered by recycled industrial hydrogen. A host of clean energy informational materials, and of course renewable energy-powered videos run continually at the demonstration van."
The Stella Group was first mentioned in connection with Axion's zero-energy Navy installation. Apparently, the connection, which I didn't understand until now, is that the president of Stella, Scott Skylar, served as an early advisor to the Navy on the project: "Sklar, early advisor to NAVFAC on this project and various other ongoing DOD projects", http://bit.ly/L2TNuS)
Axion Power Concentrator 96: May 4, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Interesting who did a lot of the work on these reports:
From the Acknowledgments section:
"This project was initiated and initially led by Ben Craft (currently at NorthStar Battery) and subsequently by Enders Dickinson (currently at Axion Power). Ben and Enders completed the bulk of the work."
"Portions of this report were adapted from work by other authors: • Much of the Introduction was originally written by Ed Buiel (currently at Axion Power) while he was at MeadWestvaco. • Phase I and Phase II documentation was adapted from reports and presentations prepared by Ben Craft and Enders Dickinson while they were at MeadWestvaco."
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Wtblanchard, thanks for all the due diligence with Altoona. The next time you write your contact, I wonder if it might be possible and fruitful for you to ask for more details about why 'most people' are doubtful about whether a battery powered locomotive can work. Do they doubt the battery because of their previous experience with the failure of EnerSys's Odyssey, or are their doubts founded on something else?
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
I would add that while Thelen (of NS), in his recent interview regarding new locomotives technologies, indicated that battery-powered locomotives have a very promising profile compared with regular diesel, he also made it clear that NS is actively exploring other options, such as a natural gas switcher project that is getting underway (I know, DRich has recently panned natural gas for locomotives, probably rightly so, but the point is that NS is nonetheless pursuing it). He also mentioned and put emphasis upon projects to produce diesel fuel from alternative sources. So, for whatever reasons, NS is still open to different options for over-hauling their fleet, and so I'm trying to be cautious in my expectations.
http://bit.ly/y0jSKi (last section of the interview is the relevant one, this has been posed before)
Axion Power First Quarter 2012 Conference Call Questions Organizer [View instapost]
A question posted before by D-inv: "Johnson Controls, Inc. recently announced a significant capital investment program to comply with new EPA regulations regarding lead. Do the recently announced lead regulations also impact Axion's battery production activities and capacity? Will Axion need to make more investments to maintain/achieve compliance with EPA regulations or end battery production?"
REE/Strategic Minerals Concentrator, April 16, 2012 [View instapost]
I've noticed a trend in REE prices lately (as reported on MetalPages) whereby prices rise in China and drop ex-China. I'm wondering if this might be part of a Chinese strategy for dealing with the WTO case. (That is, if the price differential between China and ex-China comes down, the case may lose its heat.) Just a speculative possibility I throw out there for comment.
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
No, I don't think you're reading the filing correctly at all (not to be snippy, but this is obviously a matter of crucial importance.) No shares become available for sale through this that were not available before. See the 'explanatory note':
"This Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 on Form S-1 (this “Post-Effective Amendment”) relates solely to the sale by selling stockholders of up to 47,757,572 shares of common stock issued to the selling stockholders, which resales were registered by the registrant on the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-164352) declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about April 19, 2010 and as amended by Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 on Form S-1, declared effective on or about April 25, 2011. This Post-Effective Amendment is being filed to include the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011."
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Not that long ago there was discussion about patents and IP. I was recently reviewing some older materials, and found a relevant part of an old (2007) interview transcript from Tom Granville. (This transcript has been posted on the APCs before.)
"All we are doing is substituting something. It sounds very simple, it sounds like, why can't someone else do it? Ed [Buiel] did mention that he worked on a project with MeadWestvaco and AEP, American Electric Power, in a similar attempt to try to come up with our product. They spent close to $20 million on this project, and found that they were blocked on the patents by us; C&T actually owned the patents. They were working with a Russian company that claim they own the patents and sold them some patents that were of little value. That project was closed and as a result, Ed ended up with us."
The fact that MeadWestvaco actually stopped the development of a project due to Axion's patents is pretty reassuring, I think.
Axion Power Concentrator 97: May 8, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 97: May 8, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
"Renewable Energy Overview," March 13, 2012, presented at the Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC.
http://bit.ly/KIOtjD
(see slide 19/46)
The venue for this presentation is particularly interesting:
"The Inter-American Development Bank, the leading source of long-term lending for Latin America and the Caribbean, today (April 15, 2010) announced its intention to increase its financing for renewable energy and climate-related projects to $3 billion a year by 2012."
http://bit.ly/JZAVJI
Note that Sklar gets around, for example, presenting March 1, 2011 at the Central America Renewable Energy Forum: II
"CAREF II will highlight financial programs regional partner countries and investors can take advantage of to encourage U.S. exports of renewable energy technologies as well as efforts in the region to unify the electric grid and broaden renewable energy development. "
http://bit.ly/KIOrZ2
Axion Power Concentrator 96: May 4, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 96: May 4, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 97: May 8, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
But I hope you held.
Axion Power Concentrator 97: May 8, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
"To educate the general public (aside from hosting weekly tours of his two zero- energy buildings and four “drop and play” renewable systems at his North Arlington location) TSG retrofitted a Dodge Caravan with a 48 inch all-weather flat screen which hangs on either exterior side of the van. To run the DVD player and the all-weather flat screen, two 450 watt Sanyo SIT photovoltaics panels, a 150 watt Marlec windturbine and a 60 watt Dynglobal flexible PV module – all mounted on the van rooftop. The generated electricity is stored in Axion Power hybrid carbon/supercapacitor batteries and are augmented by a 100 watt ReliOn PEM fuel cell powered by recycled industrial hydrogen. A host of clean energy informational materials, and of course renewable energy-powered videos run continually at the demonstration van."
http://bit.ly/L2TNuK
The document is from Oct. 2011. If you look at their other projects, you'll see that they are trying out a lot of different tech.
More info on this project and pics at: http://bit.ly/ISuEoz
The Stella Group was first mentioned in connection with Axion's zero-energy Navy installation. Apparently, the connection, which I didn't understand until now, is that the president of Stella, Scott Skylar, served as an early advisor to the Navy on the project: "Sklar, early advisor to NAVFAC on this project and various other ongoing DOD projects", http://bit.ly/L2TNuS)
Axion Power Concentrator 96: May 4, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
From the Acknowledgments section:
"This project was initiated and initially led by Ben Craft (currently at NorthStar Battery) and subsequently by Enders Dickinson (currently at Axion Power). Ben and Enders completed the bulk of the work."
"Portions of this report were adapted from work by other authors:
• Much of the Introduction was originally written by Ed Buiel (currently at Axion Power) while he was at MeadWestvaco.
• Phase I and Phase II documentation was adapted from reports and presentations prepared by Ben Craft and Enders Dickinson while they were at MeadWestvaco."
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
He also mentioned and put emphasis upon projects to produce diesel fuel from alternative sources.
So, for whatever reasons, NS is still open to different options for over-hauling their fleet, and so I'm trying to be cautious in my expectations.
http://bit.ly/y0jSKi
(last section of the interview is the relevant one, this has been posed before)
Axion Power First Quarter 2012 Conference Call Questions Organizer [View instapost]
"Johnson Controls, Inc. recently announced a significant capital investment program to comply with new EPA regulations regarding lead. Do the recently announced lead regulations also impact Axion's battery production activities and capacity? Will Axion need to make more investments to maintain/achieve compliance with EPA regulations or end battery production?"
REE/Strategic Minerals Concentrator, April 16, 2012 [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
See the 'explanatory note':
"This Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 on Form S-1 (this “Post-Effective Amendment”) relates solely to the sale by selling stockholders of up to 47,757,572 shares of common stock issued to the selling stockholders, which resales were registered by the registrant on the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-164352) declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about April 19, 2010 and as amended by Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 on Form S-1, declared effective on or about April 25, 2011. This Post-Effective Amendment is being filed to include the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011."
Axion Power Concentrator 95: May 2, 2012: Axion Power Receives Initial Norfolk Southern Order For PbC® Batteries [View instapost]
"All we are doing is substituting something. It sounds very simple, it sounds like, why can't someone else do it? Ed [Buiel] did mention that he worked on a project with MeadWestvaco and AEP, American Electric Power, in a similar attempt to try to come up with our product. They spent close to $20 million on this project, and found that they were blocked on the patents by us; C&T actually owned the patents. They were working with a Russian company that claim they own the patents and sold them some patents that were of little value. That project was closed and as a result, Ed ended up with us."
The fact that MeadWestvaco actually stopped the development of a project due to Axion's patents is pretty reassuring, I think.
http://seekingalpha.co...
(it's under the Q&A section)