Cobasys LLC

Cobasys LLC supplies nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, battery control systems, and packaged solutions for automotive applications, uninterruptable power supplies, telecommunications applications, and distributed power generation. For 8 years ending in 2009, Cobasys was a 50-50 joint venture between California-based Chevron Corporation and Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (also called ECD Ovonics, ECD, or Ovonics) The intermediary hierarchy of ownership was that Cobasys LLC was owned by Chevron's subsidiary Chevron Technology Ventures LLC, and ECD Ovonics' subsidiary Ovonic Battery Company. Cobasys spent $180 million in funding from Chevron Technology Ventures, and the two owners were unable to agree on further funding of the company. After arbitration between the owners had stalled, a buyer was found.

On July 14, 2009, the sale of Cobasys to SB LiMotive Co. Ltd., an electric vehicle battery joint venture between Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. and Robert Bosch GmbH, was announced. The joint venture ended in 2012, with Bosch taking full control of Cobasys.

The pioneering work on NiMH batteries - essentially based on sintered Ti2Ni+TiNi+x alloys for the negative electrode and NiOOH-electrodes for the positives - was performed at the Battelle Geneva Research Center starting after its invention in 1967: The development work was sponsored over nearly 2 decades by Daimler-Benz Comp./Stuttgart and by Volkswagen AG. within the framework of Deutsche Automobilgesellschaft. The batteries showed high energy and power densities up to 50 Wh/kg, 1000 W/kg and a reasonable cycle life of 500 cycles. - Patent applications were filed in European countries (priority: Switzerland), USA and Japan and the patents transferred to Daimler-Benz Comp./Stuttgart. - Ref: Elektrode zur Speicherung und Aktivierung von Wasserstoff", K.D. Beccu, Battelle-Geneva, CH Priority Application No. 6333/67-Bb3/CH/2 - (2.05.1967), Patent: DE 2317505 C2 (18.10.73). Negative electrode of Ti-Ni alloy hydride phases, US patent US 3,669,745 (06/13,1972), inventor: K.D. Beccu, Ph.D, Battelle-Geneva R&D Center. See also NiMH batteries

The "invented NiMH variation" of Mr. Ovshinsky consisted in special alloys with disordered alloy structure and specific multicomponent alloy compositions. This variation made possible to increase the battery performance, i.e. the energy density, the cycle life and other characteristics.

...
Wikipedia