Newly Rebranded Clarios Working To Pivot Into Electric Vehicle Batteries
Johnson Controls Power Solutions has sold off its automotive battery business to Brookfield Business Partners for $13.2 billion. That includes its more than 16,000 employees across 56 locations around the world. Brookfield Business Partners is rebranding the business unit as Clarios.
Today, the newly rebranded Clarios produces more than one third of the 12V batteries in the entire automotive industry, and it seeks to build on that leading position as the automotive industry rapidly pivots away from polluting combustion engines to zero emission electric vehicles.
Don’t read too far into Clarios’ leading market share in automotive batteries and assume that the division is a big dog on the block when it comes to electric vehicles, because it isn’t, yet. But that’s exactly the angle that the company has in mind as it pivots from being a part of a much larger multinational conglomerate to a smaller, more nimble company focused on the rapidly expanding automotive battery business. Today, Clarios produces more than half of advanced absorbent glass mat (AGM) batteries in the world, according to the Journal Sentinel.
“At Clarios our vision is to power progress by creating the world’s smartest energy storage solutions that benefit people, business, and the planet,” said president of Clarios, Joe Walicki. “As a global leader with a product used in virtually every vehicle from conventional to fully electric, we are well positioned to capitalize on market trends, including a move toward more electrified and autonomous vehicles which are elevating the critical role of the battery and accelerating the need for more advanced batteries.”
Clarios’ established relationships with automotive manufacturers and its decades of expertise in developing energy storage solutions are significant advantages in an era of startups that burn bright but may fizzle out literally overnight. Splitting off as its own company allows Clarios the freedom to more aggressively pursue solutions for the automotive energy storage industry of today and tomorrow.
The company has built a name for itself by designing batteries that allow for high durability and high end-of-life recyclability, with a large percentage of the materials in their batteries able to be recovered and reused in its new batteries.
Can Clarios pivot? Will it be a significant player in the electric vehicle revolution? The company is well positioned to make an impact, but time will tell if it actually does.
We will keep a watchful eye on Clarios as it works to build up its brand and its new products for the rapidly evolving world of electric vehicles.
Source: cleantechnica
