TROY, Mich., May 30 -- Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. ("ECD") (Nasdaq Small Cap Market: ENER) and its subsidiary, Ovonic Battery Company, Inc. ("Ovonic"), announced today that the Solectria Sunrise, an all new purpose-built four passenger electric sedan, powered by Ovonic nickel metal hydride ("NiMH") batteries, set a new record of 238 miles on a single charge in the 1995 American Tour De Sol, a race of 48 electric vehicles conducted over public roads under real driving conditions.
The Ovonic NiMH battery-powered Solectria Sunrise was the overall winner in every event in which it was entered during the five-day competition. This achievement of 238 miles on a single charge marks the second consecutive record set by a Solectria electric vehicle powered by Ovonic NiMH batteries. The previous record of 214 miles was set at last year's Tour de Sol. Other vehicles in the race were powered by a variety of batteries, including lead acid, nickel cadmium, sodium sulfur, etc. The Solectria Sunrise electric vehicle running on Ovonic NiMH batteries was the only vehicle to break the "magic" 200-mile barrier.
James Worden, Solectria's Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, credited this achievement to Ovonic's NiMH battery, aided by the use of composite lightweight materials and sleek aerodynamic design. Stanford Ovshinsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of ECD and Chairman of Ovonic stated, "It has always been said that the problem with building the much-needed electric car industry has been that there is no battery. This obviously has now been proven false."
Ovonic NiMH batteries for electric vehicles will be commercially produced by GM Ovonic, a joint venture between Ovonic and General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM). Ovonic develops, manufactures and supplies electrode materials and electrodes to its licensees, who produce Ovonic NiMH batteries for consumer electronics, such as laptop computers and cellular phones, as well as for electric vehicles.
ECD is a leader in the synthesis of new materials, innovative products and production systems with an emphasis on alternative energy and advanced information processing technologies. ECD's pioneering work focuses on amorphous, disordered and related materials. ECD has commercialized its proprietary products and production technology, and has established alliances throughout the world with major companies, such as General Motors Corporation, Canon Inc. and Micron Technology, Inc., for the manufacture and sale of its products in the areas of energy, information and synthetic materials.
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Friday, September 10, 2010 
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