Knobias Clip Report (9-26-2007)

Sumbmited From Knobias ClipReport

ENEI: Receives Second Contract in the Past Two Weeks

Wednesday’s session saw the Dow in the green as news that the auto giant GM and the UAW agreed to preliminary terms effectively ending the strike for the time being. Many in the industry believed the agreement between the two could cause other automakers to cut health care costs as the pact with GM included plans for an independent retiree health care trust. Following the news, shares gained some 7%, which was also fueled by energy inventory reports showing large increases compared to expectations.

In the small cap space, one company announced another contract in the vehicle arena though it is in the alternative energy space.

Ener1, Inc. (ENEI) is an alternative energy technology company that is developing lithium ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) at its 80.5% owned EnerDel subsidiary, commercial fuel cell products through its EnerFuel subsidiary, and nanotechnology- based materials and manufacturing processes for batteries and other applications at its NanoEner subsidiary.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Wednesday that it had awarded Ener1's EnerDel subsidiary a $2.5 million contract over two years for plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) research. The award is for the development of cells for 10 and 40 mile range PHEVs using nano-phase lithium titanate coupled with a high voltage Nickel-Manganese cathode material.

The deal was the second one announced in the past few weeks. On September 18th, the Company announced that its EnerDel subsidiary was awarded a lithium-ion battery technology development contract from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), an organization whose members are Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation.

USABC awarded the contract in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop lithium-ion battery technology for hybrid-electric vehicle applications. The 18-month contract, valued at $6.5 million, is the second of a three-phase USABC program and requires a 50 percent cost share. EnerDel successfully completed Phase I in June.

"We are pleased to award this contract to EnerDel as part of USABC's battery technology research and development program," said Don Walkowicz, executive director of USCAR in the press release. "The program is essential to advancing the goals of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, yielding both near and long-term benefits for hybrid-electric and hydrogen-fueled transportation."

Subhash Dhar, President of Ener1, said in the release, "We are pleased that USABC has awarded the Phase II contract based upon the success we have demonstrated in Phase I. The contract award recognizes our efforts to date, and the funds will greatly help EnerDel to deliver potentially breakthrough technology in finished product form." Ulrik Grape, Chief Executive Officer of EnerDel, added, "We expect to deliver results that will meet and exceed the battery performance requirements of USABC and the DOE and that will set a very high standard of performance in the United States."

USABC is a consortium of the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR). Its mission is to develop electrochemical energy storage technologies that support commercialization of fuel cell, hybrid and electric vehicles. USABC has a cooperative agreement with the DOE for research and development of battery technologies.

With the two contracts, the Company has effectively increased their revenue dramatically and withstanding a positive result from their research and developing, become one investors would be wise to watch.



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