Texaco Ovonic Bullish on Batteries

Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems sees a huge potential market for the same sort of automotive storage batteries that once were seen as a critical component for now-defunct EVs. In a word, that market is hybrids.

President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas Neslage says in an interview that Troy, MI-based Texaco Ovonic — a 50/50 joint venture between oil giant ChevronTexaco and ECD Ovonics, the company that holds most critical patents for advanced nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery technology — believes hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) will emerge as a dominant market force across almost all segments.

And all hybrid vehicles will require some sort of battery pack to store electricity from the hybrid drivetrain. HEV volumes, in fact, are projected to be far in excess of what even the most-optimistic promoters for pure EVs imagined.

“We believe there are going to be millions of vehicles made with hybrid batteries,” Neslage says.

ChevronTexaco injected $175 million into its commitment to commercialize NiMH batteries for automotive and stationary applications such as backup power for facilities and information-technology systems.