Balqon Corp., a developer of electric vehicles, drive systems and lithium battery storage devices, has received a $630,000 contract from the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) to retrofit six electric-powered yard tractors.

Under the deal, Balqon will convert the tractors from lead-acid batteries to higher-energy-density lithium batteries. POLA and Balqon have been jointly testing two yard tractors fitted with Balqon's next-generation lithium battery system at a local intermodal facility for the past eight months.

"The past eight months of testing demonstrated that the vehicles retrofitted with lithium battery systems have an increased range of 12-14 hours on a single charge, and these results now need to be validated at other application settings such as marine terminals and rail yards," says Balwinder Samra, CEO of Balqon Corp.