ITRI TODAY

SPOTLIGHTITRI AnnouncesLithium BatteryConsortiumand STOBA TrademarkITRI TODAY▂Summer 2010 Quarterly▂6Lithium-ion batteriesfor electricvehicles are an areaof emphasis amongITRI’s many green energyR&D projects. InApril, ITRI announcedthe establishment ofHigh Safety LithiumBattery STOBA Consortium,and alsounveiled the STOBAlogo. The Consortiumwas organized by ITRIto build a strong position for Taiwan’s batteryindustry in the emerging electric vehiclemarket, in the hope that Taiwan willbecome one of the top three lithium batteryproducers in the world. So far, abouttwenty companies have joined the STOBAConsortium.STOBA (Self-Terminated Oligomerwith Branched Architecture) is a new polymerdeveloped by ITRI that effectivelyprevents lithium batteries from explodingwhen damaged, as has occurred in severalhigh-profile cases in recent years. Afterreceiving an R&D 100 Award in 2009,ITRI’s STOBA technology became a focusof attention for a number of world-classbattery manufacturers including materialmanufacturer A123 System and batterymaker Panasonic. Meanwhile, ChairmanThe Consortium wasfounded with the objectiveof driving the forwarddeployment of Taiwan'sbattery industry in theemerging electric vehiclemarket.Source: ITRIChen-yuan Gu of Taiwanbattery industryleader Molicel statedthat the long termcooperation betweenMolicel and ITRI hasled to the technologytransfer of STOBA,and mass productionof high safety lithiumSTOBA vehicle batteriesis slated to beginin the 4th quarter of2010.ITRI’s R&D team will continue workingto develop even safer lithium battery technology,assist companies to establish STO-BA material and lithium battery manufacturingcapabilities, gradually set up safetystandard operating procedures and testingtechnology, unify electric vehicle productsafety procedures, enhance Taiwan batteryindustry differentiation and strengthen internationalcompetitiveness.The new high safety lithium batterySTOBA trademark emphasizes safety andreliability as well as strength and durability.Certification to use the trademark willbe granted once companies pass the testingstandard. In the future, ITRI will graduallypromote an international standard for highsafety lithium batteries.