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GM Ovonic Battery, 1994
In 1994, Ovonic Battery Company formed a joint venture with General Motors (GM), called GM Ovonic Battery, to manufacture NiMH batteries for electric vehicles.[10] GM was given a 60% share of the venture, and provided operating capital, manufacturing capability, and management personnel, while OBC was given a 40% share, and provided patents, licenses, intellectual property, and engineering personnel.[11] Robert Stempel, who in 1992 concluded a 37 year career at GM, finishing as chairman and CEO, joined ECD Ovonics as an advisor in 1993, and has served as ECD Ovonics' chairman since 1995.[8]
This period was during the development of hybrid and electric vehicles by several automotive manufacturers[12] trying to comply with California's Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Program, which required 2% of new vehicles sold or leased in the state to be ZEVs by the 1998 model year, and 10% by the 2003 model year.[13] NiMH batteries were used in small production runs of EVs from Toyota, Honda,[12] DaimlerChrysler, and Ford in 1997, and GM in 1999.[14] In 1996, California pushed back its ZEV compliance requirement from 1998 to 2003, and required the sale of just 3,750 ZEVs between 1998 and 2001.
Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems, and Cobasys, 2000
In October 2000, Texaco Inc. bought GM's 60% share in GM Ovonics Battery Systems, adding to their existing 20% share in the company,[17] and restructured the joint venture as a 50-50 partnership with ECD Ovonics, renamed Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems LLC.[18][19] Less than a week later, Texaco and Chevron Corporation announced a merger plan,[20] which was completed a year as they became ChevronTexaco Corporation.
