A Massachusetts Green Energy Company Heads For China

Boston Power makes batteries for electric cars, among other products.

In 2005, MIT grad and soccer mom Christina Lampe-Onnerud launched her company Boston Power in a carriage house at her home in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Her goal: mass produce a cutting edge, next generation battery she had just developed. She raised $125 million from venture capitalists, hired more than a hundred people and planned to hire another 600 and build a factory in Massachusetts to make batteries for electric cars.

She applied for $100 million in Recovery Act stimulus money, but was turned down. Undeterred, Lampe-Onnerud is now planning on building her factory and hiring hundreds of workers. But she’ll be doing it in China– she’s getting funding from China’s government and private investors to move there.

Guest:

Christina Lampe-Onnerud, founder of Boston Power

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

Guest

Christina, you can paint it any way you like, but you are a traitor. Why don’t you move to China yourself and stop taking advantage of our free society while outsourcing jobs to a country that runs over children with tanks. What’s the matter? scared you won’t be able to have your free lifestyle there? Get out. We don’t want you.
Max

Yes, too bad for MA and thank you Gov. Patrick for pouring your efforts into the gambling casinos, I’m sure they will be much more beneficial than a high a tech company that will create jobs in MA and raise the bar here. Good going..
Guest

Check out how much money A123 has spent on their factory in China
Occupy Philadelphia

This story infuriated me! She gets educated in the US, was able to develope her idea in the US, has the freedom to follow her dreams in the US, then she moves her company to China. This is the crux of our problem here in the US. This is why the occupy movement is gaining momentum.

I’m so mad I can’t even collect my thoughts.

If China is being so benevolent…move there.

Guest

If you listened to the interview, she tried to set up here first and MA refused to give her money, so she left… wouldn’t you?

Cballman

Hi Guest – just to set the record straight, Boston Power’s application was to the federal government for stimulus money under Recovery Act, not from the state of Massachusetts. The company was turned down by the U.S. Department of Energy. Thanks for listening and for your comments.
Producer – Chris Ballman

Andreawilder

I got kind of sick in hearing this story. Anyone with half a neuron knows that electric cars are in our future. We are stuck in an oil/gas economy: the pipeline from CAnada carrying oil for EXPORT, and
FRACKING, which by accounts from PA pollute water wells.

And as long as I’m here…..putting money into casinos rather than green jobs is venal.

Now I’m so mad I could spit.

ami

” Anyone with half a neuron knows that electric cars are in our future”
I bet someone said that same thing 40 years ago.

Orenzel Inci

Yes ami, and I was among them. Someone also said the same thing 100 years ago, and that industry lost out to cheap oil. No joke! LLL

Guest

I don’t know who to direct my disgust towards so I’ll be generous and be disgusted at eveyone involved in the factors that lead to this situation and the company’s decision makers. People are in the streets over this sort of behavior. It has to stop. What a vile outcome.

PBS, thank you for helping to turn the light on.

Disgusting.
http://profiles.google.com/selvakumardm Selva Kumar

Looks like china is pulling all the high tech companies toward them. If you cannot make them buy them.

http://greenconstructionmart.com/

Orenzel Inci

If you cannot buy them, you probably might as well forget trying to make them. If you wouldn’t buy them, you shouldn’t make them.

Clewisworks

The Atlantic had an article this summer on the Global Elite, a class of hardworking entrepreneurs but with no allegiance to anyone but their wallets and bottom lines. Ms. Lampe-Onnerud is one of them….how lucky for her and how pathetic we have to listen tot his story.

I am certain it was not a perfect process that let this company not receive federal grant money and for that we can be sorry. But if this woman was a real leader, she would move with her workers to China and live not only under a tightly controlled political system but breath their polluted air and live in cheap housing. Again, given her status among the global elite, she has no allegiance to anyone but herself and her bottom line.

“The character of society is the cumulative result of countless small actions, day in and day out, of millions of people.”….Ms. Lampe Onnerud is no one we should follow or devote our attentions to.

Orenzel Inci

I’ll argue we should follow and devote our attentions, because there are important things to notice here. Some of us need to compete, and we can learn a lot by observing (and trying) competition.

Redfly

This is OUTRAGEOUS…I am sick of hearing of US corporations and/or business owners and their private investors using intellectual capital here to develop alternative energy products only to sell out to China so that they can get the highest profit rewards. And in the process, the Chinese govt will steal this technology and become the “clean tech mecca” as they have done with solar products. Gov Patrick ran for office with a focus on bringing alternative energy manufacturing jobs to MA…what happened here and with Evergreen Solar? Who are the private investors that should also be held accountable? It’s time for all of us and for our state governments to “Buy American”. Don’t buy these Chinese batteries. Lastly, when these corporations try to buy Congress to allow US corporations to bring back their overseas profits without taxes say NO and RAISE HELL.

Orenzel Inci

Japan “did this to us” too, as I can remember well, just a few decades ago. And, arguably, we did it to England and Europe -in spades- starting just a few centuries ago. I think you raised a couple of good questions, and made a couple of good points too. Just don’t throw out the baby…

Eb3design

This
is the repeat of history. The US designed almost everything of modern
technology, but our short sightedness drives away talent people like Christina
Lampe-Onnerud into the arms of China. Which will copy her designs and disseminate
it to the benefits of consumers, if not the United States. We should be the
dominant exporter of Solar, Battery, Computer and Electronics to the world.
Government gives money to money, not Americas future. As Ms. Lampe-Onnerud
stated, she was a small company, but she also had a proven technology. Our government
and corporations are lost at the word “small” oddly a error of
“small” minded people. Our government should work to help save these
losses not facilitate them. I wish Ms. Lampe-Onnerud the best and look forward
to my ne improve Batteries from China.
John Gault

Don’t be so upset with Dr. Lampe-Onnerud. There are investors who put money in her company and expect a reasonable return. And there is no way she can compete with US companies that got billions of dollars in “free” money from our federal government. If you think she is awful for finding a place where she can economically make her batteries, then you should invest $150 million of your own dollars to make batteries in the US. Good luck.

“I’m so mad I can’t even collect my thoughts.” – I have not heard a better summary of the Occupy Wall Street movement anywhere else.
M Brewer

gee thanks, biatch
Simon99

This is very interesting stpry watching from an Asian point of view.

there is little doubt that Communist China has very deep pocket and is all out to bury USA,with the help of so many capable Americans,sure they will make it sooner rather than later.