Lithium Ion Battery Energy Storage System complies with relevant safety and health requirements of European Union's Low Voltage Directive and Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--A123 Energy Solutions, a division of A123 Systems LLC, and developer and manufacturer of advanced energy storage systems using A123 Systems Nanophosphate® battery technology, today announced that its Long Duration Grid Battery System (GBS-LD) meets the necessary requirements for CE Marking in the European Union (EU). Working with technical services provider TÜV Rheinland, A123 has certified that its GBS is compliant with the safety, operational and other criteria outlined by the EU's Low Voltage Directive and Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive. A123 Energy Solutions is now applying CE Marking to all its GBS-LD systems.

CE Marking signifies that the GBS-LD is compliant with EU legislation and that A123 is able to sell and ship the product throughout the European market. Specifically, A123 has certified that the GBS-LD meets the requirements of the EU's Low Voltage Directive (LVD) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive. The LVD ensures that products like the GBS-LD are safe for their intended use and requires a high level of protection against possible hazards caused by electrical equipment. The EMC Directive is operational in nature and is designed to ensure that electrical equipment does not create electromagnetic disturbances that interfere with radio and telecommunication equipment.

"From our core Nanophosphate chemistry to our robust, fully integrated grid energy storage system design, A123 has remained committed to developing safe products. We believe this commitment is validated by certifying that our GBS-LD satisfies the necessary requirements for CE Marking," said Bud Collins, president of A123 Energy Solutions. "We also view this as a significant achievement from a competitive advantage perspective as we believe we now have the only grid-scale lithium ion energy storage solution on the market today with the CE Marking, and we plan to continue working with TÜV Rheinland with the goal of achieving its official certification for our full suite of solutions."

The GBS is the lithium ion energy storage and controls hardware component of the company's fully integrated, grid-ready Grid Storage Solution (GSS), which also features a Power Conversion System as well as AEROS™, the company's proprietary software designed to deliver full command and control functionality for seamless integration with existing utility systems. The GBS is based on modular, rack-integrated energy storage and controls hardware units which serve as the building blocks, which have also achieved CE Marking status, for easily configurable systems designed to meet application-specific requirements, scaling in size from hundreds of kilowatts to hundreds of megawatts. The GBS is available with onboard touch screen control panels, heat and smoke detection, and fire suppression to provide customers with the necessary infrastructure to operate it safely and reliably. The standard containerized GBS units are available in 20-foot, 40-foot and 53-foot lengths, but the core rack-integrated energy storage and controls units can also be deployed in buildings or other custom enclosures, and are all installed as ready-to-use turnkey energy storage systems by A123 Energy Solutions.

About A123 Energy Solutions

A123 Energy Solutions, a division of A123 Systems LLC and a part of Wanxiang Group, develops and manufactures advanced batteries for electric grid, backup power and lead-acid replacement applications based on A123 Systems Nanophosphate® technology. As an industry leader in energy storage system integration focusing on high performance, efficient, safe and reliable battery systems, A123 Energy Solutions utilizes a state-of-the-art development center and ISO 9001-2008 certified facilities to design and manufacture advanced battery systems ranging from small industrial batteries to massive grid-scale energy storage systems. Its megawatt-scale Grid Storage Solutions have been successfully operated in commercial revenue service since 2009 around the world, and have to date reached over 100MW delivered. In commercial and specialty batteries, it provides energy storage solutions to fit the needs for telecom, IT backup, datacenter, medical, lead-acid replacement and other industrial applications. For more information, please visit www.a123systems.com/energy-solutions.htm.