JCI Accelerates Production of Stop-Start Batteries

Johnson Controls Inc. is expanding capacity at its Toledo, Ohio, facility to keep pace with growing demand for batteries with stop-start functionality.

JCI's total investment in the Toledo facility, which began making absorbent-glass-mat (AGM) batteries in 2012, is expected to reach $130 million by 2016.

Start-stop batteries are used in systems that can reduce fuel consumption by as much as 5% by automatically turning off a vehicle's engine when the vehicle stops briefly.

JCI says most automakers already use AGM batteries in Europe and are switching to them in other markets as more vehicles are built on global platforms. The company's Toledo plant currently makes AGM batteries for several high-volume vehicles, including the Ford F-150 pickup truck and Chevrolet Malibu midsize car.

JCI predicts there will be 9 million vehicles with stop-start systems on the road in the U.S. by 2020, with such models growing to 40% of the total produced in North America by that time. This compares with an estimated 10%-12% this year.

Batteries with stop-start systems already account for 60% of the market in western Europe and are expected to reach 90% within five years, JCI says. The company expects the global market for stop-start vehicles to climb to 53 million units per year by 2020.