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Questions and Answers with Martin Klein, CEO
After your
tremendous success with FuelCell Energy what brought you back
to the battery field to create Electro Energy
Inc?
I
founded Electro Energy Inc to create a completely new battery
design
that would change the way batteries are
made,
and improve their performance characteristics. After $18
million in government funding and 12 years of research and
development
I’ve done just
that.
What makes your battery design different from traditional
batteries?
EEI’s
revolutionary patented design is bipolar, opposed to the
traditional monopolar (cylindrical or prismatic) battery
design. Thin flat wafer cells are stacked atop one another,
vastly improving current flow. This design minimizes
space allocation and maximizes power, resulting in batteries
with 50% higher power, 30% better volume, and a longer lifespan – all
at 25% less expense.
Who are your current customers and who will you be targeting
in the future?
Our current customers include
the Department of Energy, NASA, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy,
and
the U.S. Air Force. The military was among
our first customers before going public and will remain a priority
in these turbulent times. Moving forward, we expect to penetrate
the rapidly expanding power tool industry, utility and industrial
applications, and eventually the automotive industry.
Should investors worry about future dilution with EEI?
Many companies
in the alternative energy industry have entered the public
market leveraged up to their ears in private debt. Where does
EEI stand?
EEI
carries no substantial debt. Since our inception in
1992, the US Government has provided roughly
$18 million
to help fund the creation of our nickel-metal hydride
battery. Whatever expenses government contracts couldn’t
cover were picked up by myself and a close business associate.
EEI is coming into the public market trim and lean, clean
of significant debt burden.
: Who are your main competitors?
In
truth, no one else in the world makes batteries with our
multi-patented design. That said, the market is highly
segmented. For instance, in the electric car market our main
competitor is Panasonic. In power tools it’s Sanyo. And
for our government contracts, it’s SAFT in France.
Electro Energy acquired a facility in Colorado Springs in
2003. Does management have further acquisition plans?
Management
is actively pursuing other acquisition projects, which cannot
be discussed at this time. However, it is worth
mentioning that one of the reasons we are going public is
to be able to use our stock as currency to pursue other acquisitions.
How
big is the battery market and what percentage are you targeting?
The
battery market is approximately $50 billion and growing
at 8% per year in many segments. We are targeting up to 50%
of this market.
From
an investor’s
standpoint, what are the risks involved in placing any amount
of capital
into EEI?
Time.
The technology is here. It’s been rigorously
tested by ourselves and our government customers. It’s
ready to be manufactured on a much larger scale than
ever before. That leaves
time. The
only foreseeable risk is that we cannot manufacture these
batteries as fast as we believe will be necessary to substantially
dominate the markets we target.
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