The purchase order is an extension of the existing agreement between Axion and ePower. At ePower’s current specifications, each conversion kit system requires 56 PbC batteries and the PbC battery management system (BMS). Axion values each truck conversion battery order at in excess of $20,000.

The companies are concurrently negotiating a long-term agreement for Axion PbC batteries and BMS for System conversion kits that will be marketed by ePower to fleets, trucking firms and OEMs that are in the business of retrofitting Class 8 trucks and beyond.

The agreement being negotiated would have minimums in order to retain pricing and sector exclusivity. Axion is free to market PbC batteries and technologies without restriction, except for the series hybrid market, under the agreement being negotiated.

The heavy trucking industry is a huge and unserved market when it comes to significantly improving miles per gallon of diesel fuel at affordable cost. Diesel fuel is the largest variable cost in trucking, with Class 8 trucks alone consuming more than 19 billion gallons of diesel fuel annually. With the current average mpg for these trucks being in the range of 6, each additional mpg is a huge percentage improvement that translates into proportional fuel dollar savings and emissions reductions. ePower testing to date, with PbC batteries, indicates significant savings immediately, with dramatic savings potential going forward. While our experience in the field is limited, we have not seen another system that even suggests they could bring the positive effect that ePower systems have on mileage enhancement and emissions reduction.

—Axion Chairman & CEO Thomas Granville

Axion Power PbC batteries are ideally suited to our hybridization because of their ability not only to discharge quickly, but also to recharge quickly utilizing regenerative braking and the truck's own power generation system. Our testing has been going very well, so we felt it important to get this order booked now. The PbC battery's ability to endure thousands of cycles without the loss of charge acceptance, and its ability to continually self equalize the state of charge in string applications, are tremendous advantages that clearly distinguish these batteries from their competition. These advantages, and others that the PbC battery brings to the equation, allow our ePower conversion System to achieve a very attractive ROI.

—ePower Chief Technology Officer Jay Bowman