We place a strong emphasis on R&D, particularly on technological innovation and the development of new battery cell materials and products. We have established a dedicated R&D center with what we believe to be the most advanced equipment in China. Our R&D team consists of 240 researchers and scientists, led by Dr. Huanyu Mao, our chief operating officer and chief technology officer, who has pioneered, and is a veteran of, the lithium-ion industry since its commercialization in 1992. Dr. Mao was the inventor under seven U.S. patents related to lithium-ion technology. In December 2006, we also established a wholly-owned subsidiary, BAK Canada, to focus on the research and development of lithium-ion batteries, which comprises a group of experts led by Mr. Kenneth G. Broom, our vice president of International OEM Business, who brings 23 years’ li-ion battery industry working experience.

 

China BAK has an extensive system of quality and safety testing to insure that the batteries produced by the company are of uniform high quality and survive stringent stress tests, including a wide range of temperatures, nail puncture, crushing, forceful impact, overcharging, and vibration shocks. Batteries are evaluated after manufacture for particle size, surface area, density, moisture content, and other physical qualities and are examined with infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography, several calorimeter measurements, and with both transmission and diffraction x-ray analysis. Accelerating Rate Calorimeter measurements test our batteries for the unwanted problem of thermal runaway and help assure us of the safety of our products with regard to this problem.

 

With the growing array of new electronic products, the need for more powerful, longer-lived, more versatile, and safer Lion batteries is greater than ever. The need to explore new Lion materials is clear. China BAK has merged its formidable research group with its team in charge of new product development. The company is now better able to respond to customer requests for new battery models and designs. This combined talent enables our researchers to focus greater attention on ideas suitable for new batteries and expand our product offerings. This union of talent has already borne fruit, with improvements in manufacturing efficiency, automation, and battery specifications.

 

The City of Shenzhen and its associated regulatory agencies and experts have designated China BAK's research center as a model Technology Center, qualifying it for government funds to develop newer, more technologically-advanced Lion battery cores. The research center already qualifies as a national postdoctoral station. This designation gives China BAK access to China's best young talent and insures that the quality of research at China BAK stays pace with or exceeds that of China BAK's Chinese competitors.