Valence Technology, Inc (VLNC) announced that the company has entered into a contract with The Tanfield Group Plc (TAN). Under the terms of this agreement, Valence is to manufacture and supply safe Lithium Phosphate energy storage systems to power zero emission, all-electric commercial delivery vehicles. The Valence battery systems will be installed in leading-edge vans and trucks produced by Tanfield’s UK-based trading division, Smith Electric Vehicles. Specifically, Tanfield will purchase up to $70 million of Valence products in the contract’s first phase. This agreement will also result in Tanfield becoming the first volume customer for Valence’s third generation Lithium Phosphate Epochtechnology, a battery system equipped with an advanced management system that monitors and automatically adjusts cell performance.
Robert L. Kanoda, president and CEO of Valence, stated, “The Valence Epoch System which we introduced at the December 2007 EVS-23 show has the potential to move the industry closer to the tipping point when EVs and plug-in HEVs will be broadly adopted and deployed. We believe that Valence is the first Lithium Phosphate battery producer to have the sourcing and manufacturing capability and start-to-finish infrastructure to immediately ship safe, reliable, Lithium Phosphate energy storage systems in the quantities demanded by the electric vehicle market. For the past six months we have been working to scale up our proven operational capabilities to meet anticipated demand.”
Darren Kell, Chief Executive of The Tanfield Group Plc, added, “We are constantly looking for new, cost-effective technologies that can improve our zero emission commercial electric vehicles and broaden our customer base. The Valence battery pack is an efficient, inherently robust and reliable system that gives us greatly increased flexibility in vehicle design.”
Let us hear your thoughts below: