INDIA A123 Systems, the Watertown, Massachusetts-based manufacturer of lithium-ion battery packs, has announced a deal with Tata Motors to supply battery packs for its line of hybrid electric buses and other commercial vehicles. Tata Motors is India’s largest automotive manufacturer.
Jason Forcier, vice president of A123’s Automotive Solutions Group, said: “Strategically, this is very important for us since Tata has such a large global reach.”
As part of an overall strategy in A123’s business operations, the company has begun to re-employ the 125 workers it made redundant last year. By the end of June 2012, A123 intends to have hired back all of the 125 workers.
The lithium-ion battery packs being built for Tata employ A123’s new prismatic cell technology, which the company describes as being a much better packaging system due to its higher density and increased cost-effectiveness. The concept is claimed to seamlessly configure with Tata’s hybrid electric powertrain.
