More interesting battery news
July 10, 2006
Lighter battery key to success of hybrids: Lithium-ion offers weight, cost benefits over nickel metal
By Richard Truett
Automotive News Europe
Page 21
Excerpts: “Lithium ion - the same type of powerful, compact battery in your mobile phone and digital camera - could be the wonder battery that delivers …… Virtually all of today's hybrids use nickel-metal hydride batteries. Nickel metal has proved to be reliable, but the battery packs are heavy, and the materials inside are expensive compared with those in lithium-ion packs. .... Manufacturers in Europe, the US and Japan are working to replace nickel-metal hydride batteries with lithium ion. The switch could begin in the US as early as 2008. ….. [ ] says lithium-ion battery technology is developing quickly. "A year ago, battery experts said lithium-ion batteries were 10 years away," he says. "Now they are saying two to four years from today for high-volume applications." ….. Scott Lindholm, Cobasys' vice president of systems engineering, says cost and weight reductions and power increases are still possible with nickel metal, as are improvements to performance and long-term durability. Cobasys could switch to lithium ion or make both batteries.”
Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and other battery players mentioned here.
Tuesday, 03 October 2006
Americium Battery Concept Proposed for Space Applications By Iddo Genuth
tfot.info
A new nuclear battery could power up the space station.
Excerpts: “140 kW is currently enough for the space station. In the future it will be possible to supply more power if needed using larger and higher power americium batteries or simply more of them. After 80 days, the americium battery will need to be refueled. The space station is currently powered by solar panels that have much lower energy density compared to the americium battery. As a result, the solar panels need vast collectors. …. We presented the americium battery concept in a conference sponsored by NASA. There was interest in the concept and we are continuing the research.”
October 9, 2006
A Plug for Hybrids By Marianne Lavelle.
U.S. News & World Report, Vol. 141 Issue 13, p45-46
Excerpts: “ … the "plug-in hybrid electric vehicle," is tantalizingly close to reality. Big money also is taking notice, with legendary venture capitalist John Doerr [of Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers] calling plug-ins "a really big deal" and the philanthropic arm of Google [google.org] apparently poised to back research. …. they would be able to travel long distances, perhaps 20 to 40 miles, using little or no gasoline. … the vast majority of Americans drive fewer than 40 miles per day. …. To prove demand exists, a group called Plug-in Partners, led by the city of Austin and its power company, Austin Energy, has organized local governments and businesses to pledge to buy hundreds of PHEV vehicles-even at a bloated early-adopter price-if carmakers would only build them. … Most experts, both inside and outside the auto industry, agree that carmakers will turn away from the nickel metal hydride batteries now in all hybrids to lighter, more powerful lithium ion batteries-the kind that have become ubiquitous in consumer products |
