A Peoria company with what seems like a new success story every month crosses a new milestone today.
And as News 25's Eric Shangraw reports, Firefly Energy has its' first mass transit customer, right here in Peoria.
A Firefly Energy employee installs one of the revolutionary "Oasis" batteries in a CityLink bus.
The patented microcell foam battery, developed in Peoria by Firefly, is three to four times as expensive as a traditional acid–lead battery.
But CityLink looked at the long term savings when doing the deal.
"They are going to cost more upfront. And that is why it requires a little bit of risk taking and our board had to stick their neck out a little bit and say we are going to support a local adventure' That is because we hope over the life cycle of the bus it will be cheaper. In the long run, we will pay less for these batteries," said CityLink General Manager Tom Lucek.
For Firefly, this is another example of its' cutting edge battery technology being put to practical use.
Company co–founder Mill Ovan says the next generation of his battery technology is being developed for the booming hybrid car market.
"We have cells on test at Argon National Labs for hybrid vehicle applications. And of course with the new stimulus being pushed by our government, we are going to be submitting an application for an advanced vehicle battery grant and loan program," said Ovan.
The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce is credited with getting the two parties to do business.
"This is a level of cooperation that makes a big difference in our community. –Today in particular. It is important for one business to do business with another that keeps jobs and money flowing in our local economy," said Chamber Executive Director Rob Parks.
The US government putting a new emphasis on developing a greener national economy. The circumstance for Firefly's potential success seems to be as endless as the juice in its’ radical lightweight product.
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