A123 Continues Pact Announcements (AONE, NAV, FDX, PG, GE, ETN, DAI)

Alternative energy is continuing to win new deals.  A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) will provide lithium-ion battery systems for electric vehicles.  The award is from a Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) joint venture with Modec Ltd. in the United Kingdom.

This is certainly not A123’s first pony show for battery announcements and was part of a battery system development agreement signed with Navistar back in March.   A123 will manufacture battery systems for Navistar’s eStar electric delivery vehicle and stated that a number of vehicles have already been shipped to Federal Express (NYSE: FDX) as part of the earlier development agreement.

The company has backing from Procter & Gamble (NSE: PG) and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and existing deals in place with Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN), Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI), and it has installs elsewhere with other partners.

Depending upon the circumstances and conditions, the battery pack allows a travel distance of close to 100 miles on pure electricity before needing a recharge.

A123 closed down 6% at $8.01 today after hitting an intra-day low of $8.00, which is the worst day since its 2009 IPO.  But after the close shares rose as much as 8% and are currently up 4.7% at $8.39 in the after-hours session.  The market cap as of today’s closing bell was $835 million.

JON C. OGG