美国为什么不愿A123落入中国公司之手

    在关于电池制造商A123破产的种种议论中，有一种观点被人们忽视。从长期来看，这家公司的破产对美国来说可能是好消息。

    位于马萨诸塞州沃尔瑟姆的A123公司主要生产电动汽车和混合动力车使用的锂离子电池。初创企业菲斯克汽车公司（Fisker Automotive，生产97，000美元的Karma混合动力车）便是该公司的客户。（菲斯克汽车公司目前为产品召回花费巨资，其中由A123供应的电池便是导致召回的原因之一。）宝马汽车公司（BMW）和通用汽车（General Motors）也是该公司的客户，而通用电气（General Electric）则在A123投资约一亿美元。好在美国行业巨头，来自威斯康辛州格伦代尔市的江森自控公司（Johnson Controls），同意支付7，500万美元用于该公司的破产融资，并以1.25亿美元收购该公司的资产，算是给此次破产带来了一线曙光。只要没有其他公司向法庭提出更高的价格，A123公司的技术和生产设施就将被江森自控收入囊中。

    对于美国刚刚起步的电池行业来说，这可能是一个天赐良机。

    就在去年夏天，中国汽车部件制造商万向集团（Wanxiang Group）曾提出以4.5亿美元，收购A123公司的控股股权。虽然A123公司对这笔交易非常满意，但却遭到美国国会的激烈反对。毕竟，这家约1，200名员工的公司，其中900人在密歇根州利沃尼亚市的制造工厂内工作，在建设工厂时获得了美国能源部2.49亿美元的财政拨款，密歇根州还为其提供了1亿美元减税优惠。因此，有美国议员质疑，用美国纳税人的钱支持的一家美国公司，却允许中国公司收购其先进技术，这样的做法是否明智。除了美国能源部的拨款外，A123公司还是美国联邦政府资助的MIT初创企业，手中握有美国军方的合约。

    收购A123之后，江森自控将帮助放缓向海外出口知识产权的速度。最近，中国公司投资了一家马萨诸塞州锂离子电池制造商波士顿电池公司（Boston Power）。之前，俄罗斯投资商收购了另外一家深陷困境的美国电池公司Ener1。纽约Needham公司的能源分析师迈克尔•卢这样解释道：“美国要想打造一个繁荣的电池行业，江森自控是最大的希望。未来，这个行业能否创造大量工作岗位，才是其最大意义所在。”另外，美国还有国家安全方面的考虑。由于美国军方日益倾向于电气化交通工具和海军舰艇，包括潜艇，因此，美国怎么会甘心这样一项关键技术落入他国之手呢？

    此外，锂离子技术之所以对美国经济如此重要，还有另外一个原因，对锂离子电池的使用不仅限于交通工具。许多业内人士相信，锂离子电池可以用于公用设施，来存储风力发电厂和太阳能发电厂生产的电力。这意味着，可以将白天用电需求较低时生产的太阳能进行存储，等到太阳落山之后，供夜间使用。Needham公司的迈克尔•卢相信，锂离子电池在这一领域的市场规模，甚至要比汽车应用更为广阔。

    所以，A123公司的破产，对投资者来说，肯定是坏消息，但从长期来看，却能刺激美国的就业市场。

    翻译：刘进龙/汪皓

    In all the buzz surrounding the bankruptcy of battery maker A123, one point has been overlooked. In the long run, the company's downfall may be good news for America.

    A123, based in Waltham, Ma., makes lithium-ion batteries designed for electric and hybrid cars. The startup Fisker Automotive, which produces the $97,000 Karma hybrid, is a customer, (Some of the batteries A123 supplied Fisker are now part of a costly product recall.) BMW and General Motors (GM) are also customers, and General Electric (GE) has invested around $100 million in A123. The silver lining in the deal is that Johnson Controls (JCI), a giant American corporation based in Glendale, Wisconsin, has agreed to pay $75 million for bankruptcy financing and $125 million to purchase the struggling company's assets. If it doesn't get outbid in bankruptcy court, Johnson Controls will end up owning A123's technology and its manufacturing facilities.

    And that would be a godsend for America's fledging battery industry.

    Only last summer, the Wanxiang Group, a major Chinese auto parts maker, had offered to buy a controlling interest in A123 for $450 million. A123 liked the deal but ran into stiff political opposition from Congress. After all, the company, which employs some 1,200 people -- 900 of them at a manufacturing facility in Livonia, Michigan -- received a $249 million Department of Energy grant, along with $100 million in state tax credits, to build its battery plant there. Some senators questioned the wisdom of a deal in which a Chinese company would be allowed to buy the advanced technology of an American company that has been supported by taxpayer dollars. Besides the DOE money, A123 was a federally funded MIT startup and benefited from contracts with the U.S. military.

    By taking over A123, Johnson Control will help slow the export of intellectual property overseas. China recently invested in Boston Power, a Massachusetts maker of lithium-ion batteries. Earlier, a Russian investor bought Ener1, another struggling U.S. battery company. Michael Lew, an energy analyst at Needham & Company in New York explains it this way: "Johnson Controls is America's best hope to have a thriving battery industry. If this industry is going to be prolific job creator in the future, it makes sense to have a major presence here." There's also a national security angle. As the U.S. military gravitates more toward electrified vehicles and naval vessels, including submarines, does the nation want this key technology to be solely in the hands of foreign nations?

    Another reason Lithium-ion technology could be so important to the U.S. economy is that the use of such batteries isn't limited to vehicles. Many in the industry believe that they will be used by utilities to store electricity generated by wind and solar farms. That means solar energy generated during the day that's not needed can be saved to be consumed during the evening hours when the sun isn't shining. Needham's Michael Lew believes this battery market could be even bigger than the one for automotive use.

    So while the bankruptcy for A123 is surely bad news for its investors, it could in the long run help to power a lot of American jobs.