The average American
owns multiple devices powered by lithium-ion batteries, and this should come as
no surprise. Everything from smartphones and laptops to power tools and
electric vehicles take advantage of the lightweight, high energy density power
sources, creating a sizable and rapidly expanding global market. According to a
report by Taiyou Research (http://dtn.fm/Wvn3T), the global market for
lithium-ion batteries is expected to exceed $30 billion by 2020, capitalizing
on continued advancements in key performance characteristics and increased
market penetration. With all this in mind, it would be easy to think that
companies across the country would be jumping into the stored energy space at a
breakneck pace, but that’s simply not the case. In fact, up until recently,
there were no lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities in the United
States, but one company had the foresight to correct this surprising omission.
In March, Oakridge
Global Energy Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB: OGES) announced the start of operations
at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Palm Bay, Florida. The major
milestone marked the completion of the company’s near two-year transition from
a primarily research and development company into a full-fledged battery
manufacturing company. Following commencement of manufacturing, Oakridge hit
the ground running, racking up an existing pipeline of orders totaling $24
million and exceeding its revenue guidance for the first quarter of 2016.
“This is a very
exciting time to be part of Oakridge,” Steve Barber, executive chairman and
chief executive officer of Oakridge, stated in a recent news release. “We have,
for the first time in company history (which dates back to the 1980’s),
generated significant commercial revenues in Q1, 2016, and in doing so have
exceeded our guidance of $250,000 in expected Q1 revenues.”
To date, Oakridge
has been successful in attracting clients from a number of market sectors,
focusing primarily on military, civilian and medical applications. In January,
the company designed a high performance custom battery for Maritime Tactical
Systems, Inc., which designs and produces the Man-Portable Tactical Autonomous
Systems (MANTAS) for use in naval fleet protection, mine warfare and a number
of other challenging applications. In a field trial for a major defense
contractor, Oakridge’s lithium-ion battery exceeded expectations by expanding the
effective range of the MANTAS and eliminating a number of safety concerns.
Oakridge also announced plans to supply its stored energy solutions to
Minnesota-based Freedom Trucking to power its fully electric interstate truck
propulsion system.
Despite the many
advantages of lithium-ion batteries over traditional lead acid batteries,
lackluster quality control and inadequate research and development has played a
role in slowing the adoption of the technology. This issue was highlighted in
April of this year, when the UN aviation agency banned cargo shipments of
lithium-ion batteries due to fire risk. This move could have a positive impact
for Oakridge moving forward, as the company continues to pursue additional
market share in the U.S., which represents over 35 percent of global demand for
lithium-ion batteries, according to Barber.
With a balance sheet
featuring no short or long term debt, a healthy and growing stream of customer
orders and a superior product that boasts up to a 30 percent increase in battery
life cycle through its proprietary chemistry and technology, Oakridge is
strategically positioned to experience significant and sustainable top-line
growth throughout the remainder of 2016 and beyond.
For more
information, visit www.oakridgeglobalenergy.com
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Sign up for “The Mission Report” at www.MissionIR.com
Please see disclaimer on the MissionIR website http://www.missionir.com/disclaimer.html
