Balqon’s Battery Storage System Powers Up a Building at the University of California, Riverside

Balqon Corporation’s 1 Mega Watt Hour Battery Storage System Went Live on May 5^th, 2012 – Powering the Bourns College of Engineering Building at the University of California, Riverside

Balqon to Supply Lithium Battery Storage and Trolley Bus for Phase II

HARBOR CITY, California. — May 7, 2012—Balqon Corporation (OTCBB: BLQN), a developer of electric vehicles, drive systems and lithium battery storage devices, announced today that on May 5, 2012, a one Megawatt Hour (“MWh”) lithium battery storage system installed by Balqon Corporation at the University of California, Riverside (“UCR”) went operational, providing electric power to the Bourns College of Engineering building. The one MWh battery storage system installed at UCR is one of the largest battery storage systems installed by Balqon and includes lithium batteries and Balqon’s proprietary components, such as Balqon’s 160 kilo Watt (“kW”) battery charger, Balqon’s 240 kW flux vector inverter, Balqon’s battery management system and related power electronics components.

“The six month development period for our battery storage system that is now operational at UCR certainly tested the limits of our inverter and charger technologies.  The development period has been an educationally rewarding process for us and has expanded our interest in addressing opportunities in the lithium battery energy storage market.  We are using the technologies developed during the UCR project to address other lithium battery storage opportunities related to cell towers and solar and wind energy systems” said Balwinder Samra, Chief Executive Officer of Balqon Corporation. “The use of battery storage systems for peak-shaving applications, where batteries are charged during off-peak hours and the energy stored during that time is used during peak hours, may be an economically viable solution for large commercial buildings and educational institutions,” Samra added.

In January, 2012, the Center for Environmental Research and Technology at the Bourns College of Engineering at UCR received a $2 million award for a two-year project, supported by theSouth Coast Air Quality Management District (“AQMD”) and involving a number of public and private partners, to build solar arrays, advanced battery storage, vehicle charging stations, an electric trolley, and a grid management system to provide clean energy to clean vehicles efficiently. The installation of Balqon’s energy storage system is part this larger project at UCR.  Reza Abbaschian, dean of the Bourns College of Engineering at UCR, stated that this larger “project will allow us to help the City of Riverside make a huge leap toward in realizing its Green Action Plan.”  “Our research capabilities, combined with the expertise and resources of our industry and municipal agency partners, promises to provide clean, renewable energy solutions in the years ahead,” Abbaschian added.  “We’re pleased that AQMD recognized the benefits of this project,” said Reza Abbaschian. “This is yet another example of our commitment to smart-grid energy solutions that integrate solar energy generation, battery storage, and distribution that are at the core of the mission of CE-CERT and our new Winston Chung Global Energy Center,” he added.

The Winston Chung Global Energy Center is a new venture funded by Balqon’s Chairman of the Board, Chinese inventor, entrepreneur and Fellow of Bourns College at UCR, Winston Chung. Chung’s company, Winston Global Energy, will donate 2-megawatts of rare earth lithium-ion batteries for the project. Balqon, will assist in the conversion of the trolley and in the installation of a additional battery storage, charging and distribution system similar to 1.1-megawatt battery storage system installed by Balqon at the Bourns College of Engineering at UCR.

Lithium Batteries Prices Plunge To Displace Lead Acid Batteries In The Storage Markets

Lithium Batteries from 40 amp hour to 1000 amp hour

Plunging prices and increased demand from electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturers with a growing demand in the energy storage markets has positioned lithium to displace lead acid battery as market leader in the next few years. Only two years ago the price of $1,000 per kWh of lithium batteries was the norm, this year automakers are reporting 2013 quotations to be as low as $600 per kWh, with companies like Balqon Corporation already selling lithium iron phosphate batteries at $300 per kWh, a goal that experts thought was decades away.

Lithium battery worldwide revenues have doubled from $10 billion in 2009 to over $20 billion in three short years. Current estimates indicate that lithium battery manufacturers have geared up to capacity of $30 billion in batteries by 2015. Although lithium batteries are most known for their use in electric vehicles or lap top computers, yet the highest growth is expected to be in the stationary power and energy storage industry.

Electric vehicle market is benefitting from the lower lithium battery cost due to rapid growth in large energy storage system installations worldwide. In addition new markets such as cell towers, backup generator systems, and energy storage systems are rapidly replacing diesel powered generators and/or lead acid batteries with lithium battery packs.

Automotive EV manufacturer such as Balqon Corporation have quickly added energy storage to their product offerings, taking advantage of the cost parity of lithium batteries with lead acid batteries. New revenue streams generated utilizes existing electric vehicle experiences in the power management, inverter technology, and charging and battery management systems to stationary energy storage systems.

Earlier this year Balqon Corporation installed a 1.1 mWh system at University of Riversidedemonstrating its expertise in the energy storage sector. Last month the company also received an order for $630,000 from Port of Los Angeles to replace lead acid batteries with lithium batteries and also began shipment of 30 kWh lithium battery systems for mobile cell towers in USA, South Africa, Australia, India and Bangladesh. While Balqon is creating strategic partnerships with automotive OEM’s in Asia and Europe it is at the same time seeking strategic partnerships in the renewable energy markets to develop new markets for its core technologies.

Lithium batteries have three times the life of an equivalent sealed lead acid battery and five times charge and discharge rates, key features for energy storage markets. With industrial sector products like forklifts, utility vehicles, UPS systems, golf carts and airport equipment manufacturers eagerly integrating lithium batteries into their product lines, replacing lead acid batteries, there is a a whole new revenue stream for EV manufacturers to explore during the next few years.

Where adoption of electric vehicles might still be in its infancy, lithium batteries are an efficiency multiplier for the energy storage markets. Battery manufacturers in United States have struggled to maintain cost competitiveness with their Asian competitors in this battery commodity market, it maybe that electric vehicle manufacturer lead the effort and take advantage of this opportunity in the energy storage market.


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