In conjunction with a notification of late filing for its quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Li-ion battery manufacturer A123 Systems provided preliminary financial results for the first quarter of 2012. The company expects net loss in Q1 to be approximately 5.0 million on revenue of approximately .9 million.

Anticipated net loss for the first quarter includes an estimated .6 million warranty expense related to the previously announced field campaign to replace battery modules and packs that may contain defective prismatic cells produced at the Company’s Livonia, Mich. manufacturing facility.

Also included in the anticipated net loss for the first quarter is an estimated .2 million increase in inventory reserves related to battery packs, modules and cells manufactured in Livonia, Mich. that may be defective. Net cash used in operating activities is expected to be .5 million in the first quarter of 2012. Cash and cash equivalents are anticipated to be 3.1 million at the end of 31 March 2012.

The company will release its first quarter 2012 financial results for the period ended March 31, 2012 before financial markets open on Tuesday, 15 May 2012.

The company anticipates that capacity for prismatic cell production will be constrained for the foreseeable future due to the field campaign, a deliberate manufacturing ramp-up and continued demand for prismatic cell-based products. As a result, the company anticipates that revenue in 2012 will be in the range of 5 million to 5 million, compared to prior expectations of 0 million to 0 million.

As a result of this deliberate ramp and the utilization of a portion of our manufacturing capacity for non-revenue generating production, we are adjusting our full year revenue forecast. We continue to anticipate completing commitments for our field campaign over the next several quarters. As we have not experienced a change in demand from existing customers, we anticipate that most of the revenue corresponding to our reduced guidance will be shifted into 2013.

—David Vieau, CEO of A123 Systems

The company also announced a private offering of million aggregate principal amount of its Senior Unsecured Convertible Notes and Warrants to qualified institutional buyers. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the sale of the Notes for general corporate purposes.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that the systems used at gas station pumps to capture harmful gasoline vapors while refueling cars can be phased out. Modern vehicles are equipped to capture those emissions.

Beginning later this year, states may begin the process of phasing out vapor recovery systems at the pump since approximately 70% of all vehicles are equipped with on-board systems that capture these vapors. This final rule will ensure that air quality and public health are protected while potentially saving the approximately 31,000 affected gas stations located in mostly urban areas more than ,000 each year when fully implemented.

Since 1994, gas stations in areas that do not meet certain air quality standards have been required to use gasoline vapor recovery systems. The systems capture fumes that escape from gasoline tanks during refueling. However, as required by the Clean Air Act, automobile manufacturers began installing onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) technologies in 1998, making gas stations’ systems increasingly redundant. Since 2006, all new automobiles and light trucks (pickups, vans and SUVs) are equipped with ORVR systems.

Gasoline vapors from refueling, if allowed to escape, can contribute significantly to ground-level ozone, sometimes called smog, as well as to other types of harmful air pollution. Breathing air containing high levels of smog can reduce lung function and increase respiratory symptoms, aggravating asthma or other respiratory conditions and other health conditions. Gasoline vapors also contain toxic air pollutants associated with a variety of health threats.

This final rule responds to public comments on EPA’s July 2011 proposal, and will take effect upon publication in the Federal Register.

SKF eDrive Ball Bearing. Click to enlarge.

Bearings, seals, and mechatronics company SKF introduced its BeyondZero portfolio of products to help its customers reduce their own environmental impacts. Environmental improvements provided by solutions within the SKF BeyondZero portfolio are validated through a life cycle assessment methodology developed by SKF sustainability engineers. Results will be reviewed yearly by KPMG.

Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of precision mechanical engineering, electronic control and systems thinking in the design of products and manufacturing processes. For the automotive industry, the BeyondZero products include:

• Bus Door Actuator. With a reduced energy consumption of 80-90%, city buses using SKF actuators for operating the doors instead of pneumatic actuators saves 1.9 tonnes CO₂/year.

• Low Weight Hub Bearing Unit reduces 0.25 g CO₂ per km in a light commercial vehicle with four SKF Low Weight Hub Bearing Units. When based on an annual mileage of 14,500 km, the saving is 3.6 kg CO₂ per year. Put another way, if one million cars used this solution the yearly reduction of CO₂ would be 3,600 tonnes.

• Rotor Positioning Bearing is an integral component of Stop-Start systems for micro-hybrid vehicles. In dense urban traffic, Stop-Start can reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions up to 15%. Based on an annual mileage of 14,500 km, this solution saves 75 kg CO₂ per year.

• Low Friction Engine Seal reduces friction by up to 55%. When installed in a gasoline fueled engine it provides a CO₂ savings of more than 1 g per kilometer. Based on an annual mileage of 14,500 km, this equates to a reduction of 14.5 kg/CO₂ per year. If one million cars were equipped with the SKF solution the reduction would be 14,500 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

• StopGo for two-wheelers reduces CO₂ emissions by 5g per kilometer. With an annual mileage of 7875 km, this equates to a reduction of 36 kg/CO₂e per year. If one million motorcycles were equipped with the SKF solution the reduction would be 36,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

E-powertrain solutions. At EVS26, SKF is highlighting some of its solutions targeted for e-powertrains. These include:

• eDrive Ball Bearing.T his SKF new bearing family for the E-powertrain market is an enabler for higher electric motor power density. The main benefits are EV/HEV vehicle mileage increase, electric motor efficiency and robustness improvement.

  An ultra-robust low-friction and high-speed ball bearing enables higher electric motor efficiency and power density. The units feature an optimized internal geometry and new patented high-speed polymer cage. SKF says that the bearings can reduce frictional loss by up to 30%. (To determine this, they set up a standard motor and an equivalent motor with eDrive Ball Bearings, spin them both up, then cut the power and count the rotations until they each stop.)

  On a typical EV application, an improvement of 1% of the car electric range can be expected when using a set of optimized SKF bearing and sealing solutions in the e-powertrain, according to SKF.

• Bearing retainer. The custom, pre-assembled unit locates the bearing in axial direction, providing a rigid linkage between the nearing and the gearbox housing. This reduces any axial clearance between the bearing and the housing, enabling a more compact gearbox design with higher efficiency and optimized noise, vibration and harshness behavior.

• INSOCOAT and hybrid bearings. An INSOCOAT bearing from SKF is a standard, all-steel bearing that is plasma-sprayed with a ceramic coating. The coating is sealed to protect against the conductive effects of water and moisture. SKF can apply the coating in a range of thicknesses to the inner or outer ring, depending on the application.
  Resistance ranges from 50 to 150 MW at a breakdown voltage between 1000 and 3000 V DC. INSOCOAT provides superior electric insulation, extending service life by reducing reducing the risk of damage due to electrical arcing.

  Hybrid bearings features standard bearing grade steel rings and silicon nitride rolling elements. Silicon nitride, an engineered ceramic material, is an extremely hard, non-conductive material.

  As an insulator, a hybrid bearing provides protection relative to the size of the rolling elements. The smallest sealed SKF ball bearing in the electric motor range is estimated to have a resistance of more than 10 GW at a minimum breakdown voltage of 2.5 kV DC.

  An SKF hybrid bearing can also accommodate higher speeds, run better under poor lubrication conditions, and resist contamination, to last significantly longer than an all-steel bearing.

  An SKF hybrid bearing has the same boundary dimensions as an all-steel bearing and does not require special handling.

• Automotive sensor-bearings. These utilize precise bearing geometry and magnetic technology to help achieve efficient and robust electric motor drive.

The market for water treatment for hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) to produce previously inaccessible shale gas will grow nine-fold to billion in 2020, according to a new report from Lux Research.

This expansion will spur technology innovation and novel thinking about water disposal and reuse, but the field is rapidly growing overcrowded, creating significant risk for new entrants, Lux Research said.

Fracking requires between 4,000 m³ and more than 22,000 m³ (25,000 bbl to 140,000 bbl) of water per well and produces toxin-laced brine that can be more than six times as salty as the sea. Its growth has energized the water industry, inspiring a range of new water treatment startups vying to treat the highly challenging flowback water.

Fracking represents a significant water treatment challenge—hydrocarbons, heavy metals, scalants, microbes, and salts in produced and flowback water from shale gas wells represent a water treatment challenge on par with the most difficult industrial wastewaters. While the opportunity is large, only a few companies are really positioned to profit. Meanwhile, nearly every start-up we talk to is going after frack water, regardless of their technology, and many of them are going to come to grief.

—Brent Giles, Lux Research Analyst and lead author of “Risk and Reward in the Frack Water Market”

Lux Research positioned key companies on the Lux Innovation Grid based on their Technical Value and Business Execution—companies that are strong on both axes reach the “Dominant” quadrant—and also assessed each company’s maturity, and provided an overall Lux Take. Among its findings:

• WaterTectonics has technology and alliances. WaterTectonics’ high-energy electro-coagulation technology addresses heavy metals, biological matter, and hydrocarbons, but leaves salt in place, meaning its use is restricted to areas where salt levels are moderate. Still, with its long-term alliance with Halliburton, WaterTectonics reaches the “Dominant” quadrant.

• EcoSphere, AquaMost lead in oxidation technologies. EcoSphere combines ozone, cavitation, and electrochemistry, and the million company leads in the “Dominant” quadrant. AquaMost, an early-stage startup, uses catalyzed UV to achieve many of the same results, but also removes metals. It ranks as “High potential” with strong technical value.

• GasFrac is poised to disrupt the industry. GasFrac, with technology licensed from Chevron, uses high-pressure propane, rather than high-pressure water, to fracture gas wells. Its technology is being tested by Shell, Blackbrush, Husky, and Chevron, among others. With 300 employees, revenues of 0 million, and million on hand, the profitable company outstrips every water start-up in the lineup, positioned in the “Dominant” quadrant and earning a “Strong Positive” Lux Take.