Big Picture Changes for Battery Maker in Azusa

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Contour Energy Systems Inc. started in 2007 with a card table in an otherwise empty office in Azusa. But now the Caltech spinoff is ready to start production of its “next-generation” battery.

The company has more than doubled the size of its headquarters, hired about 20 more people and is ready to start production of batteries designed to power 3-D TV sets.

The company celebrated the completion of its new building with a July 7 ribbon-cutting ceremony. The 15,000-square-foot warehouse doubles the size of Contour’s headquarters. The company has also hired a manufacturing team, nearly doubling staff size from 22 to 43.

“This is a significant milestone for the company,” said Chief Executive Joe Fisher. “Now we have our own full-scale manufacturing equipment.”

Contour will soon begin making batteries that can be used in Samsung, Sony and Panasonic 3-D TV sets. The company also plans to manufacture batteries for the automobile, military and health care industries.

All the company’s products should be available for sale by the end of the year, Fisher said.

Meanwhile, Contour also has set up a European sales office in the United Kingdom.

Contour, which used to be called CFX Battery, was co-founded by Caltech professor Robert Grubbs, who is on the board. The company spent the past three years developing its battery technology and raising funds. Its most recent funding round in February brought in $14.2 million to finance the company’s expansion.

“It’s quite rewarding for the whole team to be able to see what started out with card tables to now be able to supply batteries to significant markets,” Fisher said.

3-D Specs

RealD Inc. is looking to make its 3-D glasses for movie and TV viewing more appealing to the fashion savvy. The company has formed a partnership with an eyewear manufacturer to create a line of stylish 3-D spectacles.

The Beverly Hills developer of 3-D movie technology announced July 13 that it would give New York-based Marchon Eyewear the right to develop and distribute a RealD brand of 3-D glasses.

To enable the launch of a 3-D product line, Marchon has purchased the 3-D assets from San Diego-based MicroVision Optical and renamed the unit Marchon3D. The 3-D glasses will be sold at movie theaters, retail locations and online. Prices haven’t been announced.

“We understand that just as movie selection is a reflection of personal taste, some RealD 3-D fans want a choice of 3-D eyewear that fits their personal style,” said Joseph Peixoto, president of worldwide cinema at RealD.

Marchon 3-D glasses will work in RealD-enabled theaters and be compatible with RealD televisions, laptops and TV monitors. Marchon will also provide prescription lenses for 3-D, and lenses that block UVA and UVB rays that can be worn as sunglasses.

Morph Money

Morphlabs Inc., an El Segundo company that provides “cloud computing” software over the Internet, announced last week that it raised $5.5 million in a Series B funding round.

Global Gateway Investment Group led the round, joined by Frontera Group LLC, CSK Venture Capital Co. Ltd. and AO Capital Partners Ltd.

The money will be used to expand sales and marketing initiatives, and to grow the company in the American and Asian markets, said Chief Executive Winston Damarillo.

Morphlabs is the latest startup venture for Damarillo, who previously headed El Segundo software company GlueCode before selling it to IBM in 2005. Morphlabs also recently appointed Satoshi Konno president of its Japan operations.

Solar Funding

ESolar Inc., a Pasadena solar tech firm backed by Bill Gross’s Idealab, was recently awarded $10.8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy for its newest solar energy plant.

The company, which will work with Lynchburg, Va.-based power company Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. on the project, will use the DOE funding to design, build and test a molten salt power plant using solar power. The facility will use a field of mirrors to concentrate the solar energy. The project is expected to take two and a half years.

Staff reporter Natalie Jarvey can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230.

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