Now the issue is the value of this asset

For the CEO of the Bolloré group, World 2008 marks the official presentation of its electric car, the first copies must be delivered in early 2010. Built by Pininfarina, it will be powered by a new generation of technology lithium-metal-polymer batteries.

Can you detail the car that you submit for the first time here, at the Paris Salon

It is a Pininfarina car four-door with a length of 3.65 metres. We have desired it both classic and innovative. It will be equipped with photovoltaic panels on the roof and the front grille, which will be able to make an additional charge of batteries. The car will be more than 250 kilometres with a single charge, and self-reliance will be of greater stability, because the battery will provide 100,000 km with no "memory effect", i.e. without performance degradation. A complete refill will last for 5 hours, but it will be possible to retrieve 20 to 30 km of autonomy in 5 minutes. It will be marketed in March 2009, at the Geneva Motor Show, with a bit of departure from 500 euros and delivery first vehicles will be less than a year after. The car will be distributed around the world.

What will be the price and the mode of acquisition

It is still too early to give precise figures. We speak at the next Geneva Salon prices, trade network maintenance and various partnerships regarding the principles of recharge. We already have contacts in some countries, with networks of petrol stations or parking operators.

How do you market of the electric car

I think that the electric car is for pioneers. Startup will be very complex. Apart from North America and Northern Europe, where there are outlets for recharging, as there is none in the rest of the world. The electric car will be complementary of the thermal car, will not replace it. Its vocation is urban or peri-urban use. We aim to start the market the most demanding, in particular, in preference to large fleets. The Bolloré group has a habit to go to the more complicated. If it is successful, this may work elsewhere. We have interest to demonstrate the most difficult.

In early summer, everyone was convinced that it spinning into a barrel of oil at $ 200, and then he eventually fell to little more than 100 $. Is this not an obstacle to your strategy

This does not change for me. The issue is not the price of oil but that of carbon dioxide. I do not at all that our customers will be the priority, who wants to save money. We aim a customer motivated by ecology, the protection of the environment, sensitive to CO2 emissions and the car concept "zero noise", ready to face the constraints of the electric sector.

What is the strategy of your group on this market

Our strategy focuses on two elements of the lithium-metal-polymer battery and the supercapacité. It, akin to a very large capacitor, is complementary to the battery, because it can bring a very important energy in a short time, which relieves the battery. On the other hand, the supercapacité can retrieve the energy dissipated in braking, offering additional autonomy.

You're the only one to propose lithium-metal-polymer batteries. Why

Today, there are two types of batteries for electric cars: the lithium-ion, developed mainly by Asian groups, which have been proven on a large scale, in mobile phones and computers, and the lithium-metal-polymer that we are alone in the world to develop. The Bolloré group is engaged in the manufacture of these because, in our mind, the lithium-ion batteries are totally inadequate to store large amounts of energy. They present a risk of overheating that can go up to the fire. It is precisely the subject of the recall of computers by a large manufacturer last year. However, cars, to about 300 kg batteries.

We believe that lithium-ion is not capable of driving real cars (1.2 or 1.3 ton) mass safely. In addition, our lithium-metal-polymer battery is easier to manufacture. We get it by extrusion by adding lithium in the mass of the plastic film. It is the same technology as in capacitors, which we are the world's leading producer.

Are your batteries ready to be produced

The first industrial battery is emerging chains today. We will have a production capacity of batteries equivalent to 1,000 cars in 2009, which will increase to 5,000 year following, and then 20,000 on the horizon 2012-2013.

We are the only group to have tested our batteries on hundreds of thousands of kilometres in the course of which we realized many things, in the development of the chain of traction and recharge for example. We were able to complete this project thanks to the nature of the Bolloré group: we are competent for electricity storage, our group does not feel the pressure in the short term financial shareholders and we are a diverse group. The good health of the other activities helped to fund and support research on batteries. Now, the issue is the value of this asset.

What is for you the scale of the project

In total, our group will have invested a billion euros in the whole of the project. For fourteen years, the development of batteries cost EUR 400 million, to which must be added EUR 250 million for the construction of factories of batteries and supercapacitors and for the development of the car and bus, as well as 100 million for lithium, which we want to have a guaranteed supply. We are in discussion with the Bolivia to participate in the operation of a deposit of lithium. Financially, we reach the point of balance of the programme to 2017-2018.

Where are you with your partner Pininfarina

We could limit ourselves to the role of supplier of supercapacitors and batteries but we want to go further. From the beginning, we had the ambition to be non-not a subcontractor but the partner of a car manufacturer. Because the battery is the heart of the electric car and we want to bring our technology in a global project. The car will be thus manufactured by a joint venture between our subsidiary Batscap and Pininfarina.

We chose this group because we were looking for a high-end brand to build a vehicle to the innovative design. A beautiful real car, and not a gadget. An electric car is not a normal model that is doing, so needed us a partnership with a designer, and a manufacturer capable of producing. This provides Pininfarina in Turin of an ultra-modern factory which has a production capacity of 40,000 cars per year. We feel quite comfortable with another family from us. This project is also a major element of the redeployment of our partner.

The tragic loss of the CEO, Andrea Pininfarina, this summer, does not call into question your alliance

Andrea was a great leader of dynasty. He had planned the suite. Beyond this tragedy, continuous business, it is his brother who was appointed to his head and our very regular joint meetings, continued. The drawings are already finished, we are in the phase of tools for the construction orders. It is always interesting to subscribe to the capital increase of Pininfarina, which will take place in the coming weeks.

And your bus with oatmeal project

On the same model that the project with Pininfarina, we signed a partnership of 50-50 for the development of an electrical bus, which will be equipped with three batteries installed on the roof. The first deliveries are planned, too, around the end of 2009. We do hundreds of buses to begin with, but we feel that the request of municipalities is important because the pressure of users is high.