A product currently manufactured in St Joseph could soon become the automotive standard across the US. Johnson Controls is touting its Absorbent Glass Mat batteries at the North American International Auto Show, which kicked off Monday in Detroit.

The company announced it has sold more than 18 million AGM batteries since the technology launched in 2001, topping 4.5 million annually in Europe. Company officials say the batteries support the energy-saving “Start-Stop” vehicle technology and are better equipped to handle the higher electrical loads that are increasingly required in new vehicles.

“We’re installing approximately 6 million in AGM annual capacity for the U.S. market. Our estimates suggest that up to 40 percent of new cars being built the United States by 2016 could be Start-Stop vehicles requiring AGM batteries, in addition to the growing number of conventional vehicles that require a more robust battery” said Mike Carr, vice president and general manager North America for Johnson Controls Power Solutions.

Johnson Controls is expected to dramatically increase production of the batteries at a ramped-up production facility in Toledo, Ohio.