A123 Systems
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | Yet-Ming Chiang, Bart Riley and Ric Fulop |
| Headquarters | Livonia, Michigan, U.S. |
| Products | Electric vehicle batteries, batteries for various commercial products |
| Owner | Wanxiang America Inc. |
|
Number of employees
|
2000+ |
| Parent | Wanxiang Group |
| Website | a123systems.com |
A123 Systems, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wanxiang Group, is a developer and manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion (lithium iron phosphate) batteries and energy storage systems for transportation and other commercial and industrial applications.
The company was founded in 2001 by Dr. Yet-Ming Chiang, Dr. Bart Riley, and Ric Fulop. By 2009, it had about 2,500 employees globally and was headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company's original product technology was based upon materials initially developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 2010, A123 received a US$249 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for building battery production facilities. Approximately $129 million of the grant was used to build a 550 MWh battery plant in Livonia and another in Romulus. An untapped $120 million grant was abandoned by A123 by May 2012. The company laid off 125 workers in December 2011 as demand for partner Fisker's automobiles had slackened. A123 Systems had more than 3000 employees as of December 2012.
In August 2012, Chinese automotive components manufacturer Wanxiang Group agreed to invest up to $465 million to acquire as much as 80% of A123 Systems; but the acquisition was not completed before A123 filed for bankruptcy. On October 16, 2012, A123 filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code. On January 28, 2013, Wanxiang America purchased the preponderance of A123's assets out of bankruptcy for $256.6M and organized A123Systems, LLC.
An earlier statement, released by A123 Systems in early October, said that it had entered an asset purchase agreement with Johnson Controls, with the stipulation that the company's bid must be approved by a US bankruptcy court and could be topped by a rival bidder. In the event, Johnson did not win the bankruptcy auction and withdrew its bid in early December.
In early October 2012, the A123 Systems' stock was trading for 27 cents per share, down from a 52-week high of $4.44 per share about a year beforehand.
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