The Reno, NV-based Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALTI) recently announced that it has signed a mutually exclusive development agreement with Advanced Battery Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: ABAT) for Altair’s lithium polymer batteries in China. According to Altair’s CEO, Alan Gotcher, PhD, the company’s battery technology “uses nano materials. Because the electrode structures are made from nano-materials, it gives us a very high surface area, and so we are getting a large ion flux in and out of the electrodes. Since our crystallites are so small, as the lithium ion moves into the electrodes, the crystallites swell slightly and we have a zero lattice strain. As a result we are getting a much higher life cycle, so the battery life appears to be much longer.” Altair’s nanotechnology can also be used to “generate hydrogen from water,” Gotcher said. Altair has a pertnership with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Hydrogen Solar for a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to generate hydrogen.
Although promising, Gotcher said it was still a little premature to comment on the company’s hydrogen generation projects. Financially, the company now has “over $31 million in the bank,” and a clean balance sheet, Gotcher said. “We only have one debt of $3 million to buy 6.5 acrews of land and our facility, which is 80,000 sq ft. here in Reno, and so financially, the company is very strong.” The company has also been building the strength of its intellectual property portfolio, with more than 20 issued U.S. patents and more than 100 patent applications in the pipeline. “I think the company is in the strongest position that it has been in its entire life,” said Gotcher. “I think the strategic initiatives we have now are three-fold. One, we really need to execute and keep our priorities straight. We have picked six initiatives out of 50 that worked in our labs, and we’re going to bring that product technology to market. Secondly, we will continue to strengthen our management team. This is a brain-intensive business plan and so we need to hire people with proven track records of developing and commercializing technology. Finally, the third initiative is about strengthening our intellectual property position. It’s good today, and it will only get better in the coming 18 months.”
chart.bigcharts.com/bc3/quickchart/...61&mocktick=1&rand=7644" style="max-width:560px" >
