Ovonics
Encyclopedia
Energy Conversion Devices is headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan
.
United Solar Ovonic, LLC (also called Uni-Solar) is its wholly owned subsidiary located in Auburn Hills, Michigan
. Ovonics (coined from "Ovshinsky" and "electronics") is a field of electronics that uses materials able to change from an electrically nonconducting state to a semiconducting state shown by glass of special composition upon application of a certain minimum voltage. The most important example is phase change memory.
Scientist-entrepreneur Stanford R. Ovshinsky pioneered the field and coined the term after he founded Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) in 1960 to further his research in amorphous semiconductors. ECD Ovonics works to create non-polluting, non-climate-changing energy sources.
laminate
s. In the broader category of thin film solar cell
s, as of 2007 the company was the second-largest U.S. manufacturer, after First Solar
. The solar cells are made of 11 triple junction amorphous silicon
solar cell
s connected in series and have 6–7% in conversion efficiency. The laminate encapsulation material is durable ETFE
high light-transmissive polymer
. The laminates are sold under the trademark "UNI-SOLAR".
Manufacturing and global headquarters are in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Much of the production is sold to manufacturers and suppliers of building envelope elements, such as metal roofs (Rheinzink, Corus "Kalzip") or polymer roof membranes (Alwitra, Solar Integrated technologies).
, as well as many other hybrid vehicle
s in production today.
acquired a controlling interest in Ovonics's battery development and manufacturing, including patents controlling the manufacturing of large nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries
. On October 10, 2001, Texaco
purchased General Motors' share in GM Ovonics, and Chevron
completed its acquisition of Texaco six days later. In 2003, Texaco Ovonics Battery Systems was restructured into Cobasys
, a 50/50 joint venture between Chevron and Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) Ovonics.
In her book, Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America, published in February 2007, Sherry Boschert
argues that large-format NiMH batteries are commercially viable but that Cobasys refuses to sell or license them to small companies or individuals. Boschert reveals that Cobasys accepts only very large orders for these batteries. When Boschert conducted her research, major auto makers showed little interest in NiMH batteries. Since no other companies were capable of producing large orders, Cobasys was not manufacturing any NiMH batteries for automotive purposes.
In December 2006, Cobasys and General Motors announced that they had signed a contract under which Cobasys would provide NiMH batteries for the Saturn Aura hybrid sedan. Although announced, the car was later scrapped and Saturn has been shut down. In March 2007, General Motors announced that it would use Cobasys NiMH batteries in the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid as well. Cobasys remains unwilling to produce and sell NiMH batteries in smaller quantities to individuals interested in building or retrofitting their own plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). In 2009 Mercedes had planned to release an ML450 hybrid SUV in the United States, but Chevron, the parent company, pulled funding from Cobasys and the batteries were not delivered. On July 14, 2009 Cobasys was bought by Samsung-Bosch. Although mistaken as owning the intellectual property to the large NiMH battery packs, according to CEO Tom Neslage they merely have an exclusive licensing deal with Chevron.
Rochester Hills, Michigan
Rochester Hills is an affluent city in northeast Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 70,995. The city of Rochester is bounded on the north, south, and west by Rochester Hills...
.
United Solar Ovonic, LLC (also called Uni-Solar) is its wholly owned subsidiary located in Auburn Hills, Michigan
Auburn Hills, Michigan
Auburn Hills is a city in Metro Detroit, Oakland County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 census. The city was formed in 1983 when Pontiac Township became the City of Auburn Hills.-Economy:...
. Ovonics (coined from "Ovshinsky" and "electronics") is a field of electronics that uses materials able to change from an electrically nonconducting state to a semiconducting state shown by glass of special composition upon application of a certain minimum voltage. The most important example is phase change memory.
Scientist-entrepreneur Stanford R. Ovshinsky pioneered the field and coined the term after he founded Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) in 1960 to further his research in amorphous semiconductors. ECD Ovonics works to create non-polluting, non-climate-changing energy sources.
- Founded as Ovonics Battery Company in 1982.
- Invented and patented the NiMH battery.
- Current projects include NiMH, solid-state hydrogen fuel storage, regenerative fuel cells, and solar (UNI-SOLAR roof shingleRoof shingleRoof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
s). - Founder Stanford Ovshinsky was honored as "Hero for the planet" by Time Magazine in 1999, and inducted into the U.S.-based Solar Energy Hall of Fame in 2005.http://www.ovonic.com/oc_ovshinsky_solar_hall_fame.cfm
- ECD Ovonics stock is listed on the NASDAQNASDAQThe NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
with symbol ENER and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Company structure
ECD Ovonics is divided into three parts, and has full or partial ownership of several other companies.- Energy Generation
- United Solar Ovonic Corp (100% owned): flexible photovoltaic laminates
- Ovonic Fuel Cell Company LLC (100% owned)
- Energy Storage
- Ovonic Hydrogen Systems LLC (100% owned)
- Ovonic Battery Company (91.4% owned by ECD, 8.6% HondaHondais a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, SanyoSanyois a major electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo targets the middle of the market and has over 230 Subsidiaries and Affiliates....
and Sanoh)- Rare Earth Ovonic Inner Mongolia (19% owned by Ovonic Battery, 50% by ChevronChevron CorporationChevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
) - Cobasys (50% owned by Ovonic Battery)
- Rare Earth Ovonic Inner Mongolia (19% owned by Ovonic Battery, 50% by Chevron
- Information Technology
- Ovonic Media (100% owned)
- Ovonyx Inc. (39.5% owned by ECD)
- Ovonic Cognitive Computer (95% owned by ECD, 5% by Ovonyx)
United Solar Ovonic Corporation
The United Solar Ovonic Corporation is the world's largest (2008) manufacturer of photovoltaicPhotovoltaics
Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...
laminate
Laminate
A laminate is a material that can be constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to the placing of something between layers of plastic and gluing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an...
s. In the broader category of thin film solar cell
Thin film solar cell
A thin-film solar cell , also called a thin-film photovoltaic cell , is a solar cell that is made by depositing one or more thin layers of photovoltaic material on a substrate...
s, as of 2007 the company was the second-largest U.S. manufacturer, after First Solar
First Solar
First Solar, Inc. is an American manufacturer of thin film photovoltaic modules, or solar panels, and a provider to PV power plants of supporting services that include finance, construction, maintenance and end-of-life panel recycling...
. The solar cells are made of 11 triple junction amorphous silicon
Amorphous silicon
Amorphous silicon is the non-crystalline allotropic form of silicon. It can be deposited in thin films at low temperatures onto a variety of substrates, offering some unique capabilities for a variety of electronics.-Description:...
solar cell
Solar cell
A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
s connected in series and have 6–7% in conversion efficiency. The laminate encapsulation material is durable ETFE
ETFE
Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, ETFE, a fluorine based plastic, was designed to have high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range. ETFE is a polymer, and its systematic name is poly. ETFE has a very high melting temperature, excellent chemical, electrical and high energy...
high light-transmissive polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
. The laminates are sold under the trademark "UNI-SOLAR".
Manufacturing and global headquarters are in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Much of the production is sold to manufacturers and suppliers of building envelope elements, such as metal roofs (Rheinzink, Corus "Kalzip") or polymer roof membranes (Alwitra, Solar Integrated technologies).
Ovonic batteries
Ovonic NiMH batteries were used in the 1998 Chevrolet S-10 EV and the 1999 General Motors EV1General Motors EV1
The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by the General Motors Corporation from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker, and the first GM car designed to be an electric vehicle from the...
, as well as many other hybrid vehicle
Hybrid vehicle
A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle. The term most commonly refers to hybrid electric vehicles , which combine an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors.-Power:...
s in production today.
Patent encumbrance
In 1994, General MotorsGeneral Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
acquired a controlling interest in Ovonics's battery development and manufacturing, including patents controlling the manufacturing of large nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries
Nickel metal hydride battery
A nickel–metal hydride cell, abbreviated NiMH, is a type of rechargeable battery similar to the nickel–cadmium cell. The NiMH battery uses a hydrogen-absorbing alloy for the negative electrode instead of cadmium. As in NiCd cells, the positive electrode is nickel oxyhydroxide...
. On October 10, 2001, Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
purchased General Motors' share in GM Ovonics, and Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
completed its acquisition of Texaco six days later. In 2003, Texaco Ovonics Battery Systems was restructured into Cobasys
Cobasys
Cobasys LLC supplies nickel metal hydride batteries, battery control systems, and packaged solutions for automotive applications, uninterruptable power supplies, telecommunications applications, and distributed power generation...
, a 50/50 joint venture between Chevron and Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) Ovonics.
In her book, Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America, published in February 2007, Sherry Boschert
Sherry Boschert
Sherry Boschert is a reporter and co-founder of the non-profit organization and of the . She is the author of the book Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America. She is a senior reporter and San Francisco bureau chief of the International Medical News Group, a division of Elsevier,...
argues that large-format NiMH batteries are commercially viable but that Cobasys refuses to sell or license them to small companies or individuals. Boschert reveals that Cobasys accepts only very large orders for these batteries. When Boschert conducted her research, major auto makers showed little interest in NiMH batteries. Since no other companies were capable of producing large orders, Cobasys was not manufacturing any NiMH batteries for automotive purposes.
In December 2006, Cobasys and General Motors announced that they had signed a contract under which Cobasys would provide NiMH batteries for the Saturn Aura hybrid sedan. Although announced, the car was later scrapped and Saturn has been shut down. In March 2007, General Motors announced that it would use Cobasys NiMH batteries in the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid as well. Cobasys remains unwilling to produce and sell NiMH batteries in smaller quantities to individuals interested in building or retrofitting their own plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). In 2009 Mercedes had planned to release an ML450 hybrid SUV in the United States, but Chevron, the parent company, pulled funding from Cobasys and the batteries were not delivered. On July 14, 2009 Cobasys was bought by Samsung-Bosch. Although mistaken as owning the intellectual property to the large NiMH battery packs, according to CEO Tom Neslage they merely have an exclusive licensing deal with Chevron.