American battery maker A123 Systems secured more than $100 million in refundable tax credits from the state of Michigan to establish plants in the state needed to manufacture of its lithium-ion batteries as demand for them grows, the company announced Tuesday.

[The credits]will help implement A123's existing strategy to establish Michigan as the manufacturing hub to meet demand from its growing global automotive customer portfolio, the company said in a released statement Monday

The firm also recently received a $69 million investment from GE and others to accelerate the expansion of its US lithium-ion battery manufacturing and smart grid capabilities, it said.

It plans to expand its facilities in Massachusetts and Michigan, build new plants in the latter state and develop applications for the smart grid such as utility-scale energy storage, the firm noted.

The company is seeking a $1.8 billion loan from the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program (ATVM) to build a Michigan plant. The DOE allocated a total of $25 billion to that program.

Included in its partnerships, A123 agreed last month to supply Chrysler with battery cells and systems for its hybrid electric vehicles expected to launch in 2010.

Michigan Battery Energy