Balqon Blqn Makes Progress On Several Fronts

Balqon Corporation (OTCBB: BLQN), an emerging developer and manufacturer of zero emissions heavy-duty electric vehicles, energy storage products and electric drive systems, recently announced a number of developments that have potential to help unlock shareholder value in the near and long-term as electric vehicles continue to gain prominence.

CEO Balwinder Samra Explains Balqon’s Niche

Balqon Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer Balwinder Samra recently presented at the EV Expo 2012 in Tampa Bay, Florida on February 21 to 23, 2012. In this video shot at the conference, the CEO outlines how his company created and now fills the niche as the only manufacturer of heavy duty, short haul electric yard tractors for moving 30 ton shipping containers, worldwide.

LA Harbor Awards Balqon Additional Contract

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners reallocated a federal grant to upgrade six yard tractors with lithium-ion batteries after the original contractor hired to convert the tractors to hydrogen fuel cells missed a deadline to complete the work, according to an article in Daily Breeze.com. The contract is worth an estimated $630,000 to Balqon Corporation.

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Department of Energy Grant May Benefit Balqon

According to a recent article in AutoBlog’s Green Energy section, the U.S. Department of Energy may fund $10 million for electric truck and forklift development with the goal of further cutting petroleum use by the domestic transportation sector. Companies will have until May 15th to submit applications and award recipients will be announced by September 30th.

BACKUP POWER FOR CELL TOWERS – SAFETY AND ECONOMICS (OTCBB: BLQN)

Balqon Corporation (OTCBB: BLQN), A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE), EnerSys Inc. (NYSE: ENS) and other energy storage companies could benefit from increased demand in both traditional industries – such as telecom’s cellular towers – and emerging industries driven by increased capacity for renewable energies like solar and wind power.

It was in January 2006, when Katrina Panel reviewed the communications infrastructure during Hurricane Katrina and made recommendations to Federal Communication Commission for improvements in disaster preparedness, network reliability. In June 2007, the Commission released the Katrina Panel Order directing the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau to implement several of the recommendations. Among them was an order that cell sites, normally powered from local AC Commercial power, install backup power sources that can operate a minimum of eight hours during an emergency.

As the industry argued over the rule and its implementation, private sector energy storage company, Balqon Corporation, was busy seeking solutions that balanced safety and economics interest of both government and telecom industry. In 2011, the company started shipping backup storage batteries that can be charged with conventional fossil fuel generators at remote sites with no grid availability, as well as cell sites where batteries can perform the function of load shaving during peak load periods.

The economics of charging the batteries at remote sites with existing generators or renewable energy sources such as wind or solar panels reduced the use of engine generators from 24 hours to less than 4 hours per day. This resulted in lower fuel costs, maintenance costs and fuel delivery costs, which more than offset the additional cost of Lithium Batteries supplied by Balqon. The success witnessed in these remote sites has resulted in delivery of such systems to international customers in South Africa, Australia and India, reducing operating costs and improving system reliability in countries where reliability of grid power is suspect.

With over 12,000 new cell sites being installed every year in United States and over 75,000 cell sites being installed worldwide, energy storage at these sites can be a win-win relationship between energy storage providers such as Balqon, telecom industry and local governments.