Lithium-ion battery producer A123 Systems is investing $200 million at its production facilities, including sites in Livonia and Romulus.
DETROIT, MI - Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems is investing $200 million at its production facilities, including sites in Livonia and Romulus.
That's according to a report in Crain's Detroit Business, which says the Livonia-based company, with funds from its Chinese parent company, is doubling its capacity at the Michigan plants as well as in China.
It is not immediately clear how many new hires the company plans to add as part of the investment. A spokeswoman for A123 Systems could not immediately be reached Monday.
A123 Systems has 610 employees in Michigan and 1,815 globally, according to Crain's. Its regional battery production will reportedly increase from 3.3 million cells to 4.3 million cells.
After emerging from bankruptcy about two years ago, A123 Systems, previously based in Massachusetts, agreed to sell its assets for $256.6 million to Wanxiang America, an Elgin, Ill.-based subsidiary of Wanxiang Group Corp. The agreement followed an auction of A123 System's assets that was overseen by a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware.
According to terms of the purchase agreement, Wanxiang acquired A123 System's automotive, grid and commercial assets, including all technology, products, customer contracts and U.S. facilities in Michigan, Massachusetts and Missouri.
Wanxiang also bought A123 System's cathode power manufacturing operations in China, as well as its equity interest in a joint venture with Shanghai Automotive.
Not included in the purchase agreement was A123 System's Ann Arbor-based government business, including all military contracts. Those assets were acquired by Woodridge, Ill.-based Navitas Systems for $2.25 million.
A123 Systems had received $249 million from the federal government to build production facilities in Livonia and Romulus to support large, lithium-ion battery packs for electric vehicles, before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2012.
It has since shifted its focus to smaller, low-voltage lithium-ion batteries for a variety of uses in vehicles, according to Crain's.
Wanxiang Group Corp., now A123 Systems' parent company, has offices throughout the world, including the American subsidiary in Illinois. Wanxiang has about 3,000 employees in the United States.
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter