BY SIMON COLLINS
Ilion Technology (formerly Pacific Lithium) has formed joint ventures in the United States and Italy to develop power control and portable power systems.
The company yesterday unveiled new directors from Australia and the US, confirmed that its head office would move to New York on October 1, and said
its planned initial public offering on New York's Nasdaq stock exchange would occur in January.
Managing director Robin Johannink said the company aimed to raise $US120 million in the initial float and reach sales of $1 billion by 2005.
Its main research base will remain in Auckland.
The company, set up in 1994 to extract lithium from seawater, aims to achieve dominance in the lithium carbonate market and then successively in advanced cathode materials, lithium battery cells and distributed power systems - "micro" systems that can supply electronic equipment, buildings and cars.
Mr Johannink said the group controlled 30 per cent of the world market for lithium carbonate and aimed for 50 per cent in the next 15 months.
Last month, it formed a joint venture with Italy's Eldor Corporation to make portable power devices for telephones, computers and other electronic equipment and is due to sign up a joint venture with Boston company Powercell to produce power quality devices to insulate electronic equipment from power surges.
