Maxwell Technologies and Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock (Lishen), a chinese producer of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, announced an alliance through which they plan to manufacture and market novel "hybrid" energy storage products combining the companies' respective ultracapacitor and li-ion battery technologies. David Schramm, Maxwell's president and chief executive officer, said that the companies see a large market opportunity for products that leverage the complementary strengths of double layer capacitor and li-ion battery technologies.

Lishen currently produces more than 130 million li-ion batteries annually in its state-of-the-art, 860,000 square-foot, production facility, located in Tianjin, China, supplying rechargeable batteries to multiple cellular telephone manufacturers, including Motorola and Samsung, and numerous consumer electronics manufacturers, including Apple for devices such as MP3 players. The companies have identified a number of initial target applications for the new products, ranging from quick-charge cordless tools to electric vehicles, and anticipate production and delivery of initial product samples in early 2008.