On Thursday, LiFeBatt USA in Danville tested a prototype battery pack on an electric go-kart inside Dan River Grand Prix on Riverside Drive.
LiFeBatt CEO Don Harmon and Chief Operating Officer Michelle Robinson seized the chance to test the 64-cell, 48-volt lithium iron phosphate battery pack on an actual vehicle rather than just in the laboratory.
“It’s more exciting because the go kart goes around curves,” Robinson said.
The battery pack will head to Volvo in Sweden for evaluation, she added. LiFeBatt got its foot in the door with Volvo through the company’s new European distributor, Toyota Tsusho Europe.
In December, LiFeBatt signed a sales and distribution agreement with Toyota Tsusho Europe, which is part of Toyota Tsusho Corp., the only trading company of Toyota Motor Group.
For the Volvo prototype, EIT South in Danville made the battery case and mounted the LiFeBatt circuit board inside, Harmon said. The company anticipates using Dan River Grand Prix for future testing.