Exxon Going After Hybrid Market

Oil companies are no dummies. Exxon — which raked in nearly $40 billion in profits last year — is looking at its plastics division to make a profit on hybrid and electric cars. The company produces a film that protects the large batteries hybrids use to keep them from overheating or exploding. Future lithium-ion batteries would also need such a separation film, and in the quest to capture that business, Exxon’s big pockets are an asset.

Ford says it wants the prices of the batteries to come down as it adds more hybrids to the market, and it may take a large company like Exxon to find ways to offer more product at a lower price.

Exxon is more optimistic than are most automotive industry experts on hybrids becoming widely popular in the not-so-distant future, and it wants to be part of it. It sounds a lot like Exxon is hedging its bets in case people end up needing less of its gas.

Guess Who Hopes to Help Power New Hybrid Cars (The Wall Street Journal)