Boston-Power Inc, the maker of eco-friendly lithium-ion notebook batteries, has formed a partnership with a local firm, Mr. Battery (菁山科技), to provide after-sales services for its Sonata battery and become Boston-Power’s major distributor.
Mr. Battery will use Sonata in its product lines, and the two companies will begin cobranding and joint marketing in the second half of this year.
“Since Mr. Battery owns more than 70 percent of Taiwan’s notebook PC battery after-market market, providing backup batteries compatible with laptop brand names Dell, Acer (宏碁), Gateway, Toshiba and Sony, the global collaboration is a great fit,” Boston-Power founder and chief executive officer Christina Lampe-Onnerud told reporters.
Since Boston-Power manufactures its next-generation green 2-cell batteries through local company Gold Peak Industries Ltd (GP Batteries, 金山電池), and Taiwan manufactures the majority of the world’s notebooks, the country was an ideal location for an office, which the company will set up this year, she said.
The Massachusetts-based company will be hiring aggressively to staff the local office, she said.
Having a presence in Taiwan, in proximity to world’s largest notebook contract makers, will hopefully mean the idea of green batteries will be quickly adopted by major PC manufacturers as well as global brands, she said.
Although currently not installed in brand name notebooks, Boston-Power is the world’s first provider of notebook PC replacement batteries for Hewlett-Packard and its product is sold via HP’s Web site.
“By providing green batteries with extended life-time, Boston-Power actually helps computer companies create long-term customer loyalty, while even more importantly, helping out the environment,” Lampe-Onnerud said.
Mr. Battery chief operating officer James Hsieh (謝倫生) sees a potential annual US$2.5 billion market for after-market notebook batteries, while only 10 percent of the global pie is currently being utilized, meaning there is a huge market to be tapped.
Compared with notebook batteries on the market, Sonata can allow in excess of 1,000 charge cycles, can charge 80 percent of battery in 30 minutes or 40 percent in 10 minutes, is completely environmentally friendly and offers a three-year warranty.
Sonata was the first lithium-ion battery to win the Nordic Ecolabel.
It does not use heavy metal and does not employ PVC wrapping.
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