Building a better battery
If hybrids, especially American-built hybrids, are to succeed, then battery technology must improve. To that end,
Tentative delivery is 2010 and the goal is to compete with top-selling Japanese batteries. Panasonic Electric Vehicle Energy, a joint venture with
Automakers need an alternative because the price of nickel, the main element in current hybrid batteries, has tripled in price in the past decade. Switching to lithium-ion will help but the consumer electronics industry is a heavy user of that technology. The new consortium hopes to price the new batteries at $500 each.
[Source: Sun Journal]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
daniel 7:55PM (9/12/2006)
If detroit wants to develop a better battery they should have not cancelled the GM Impact electric car program. They could have had it all, better battery technology and a superior electric car design but no they had to throw it all away. They might have as well given it to Toyota on a silver platter.
Stupid people.
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Lithous 11:01AM (9/13/2006)
So what is Toyota's excuse: really stupid people?
I mean, they had a RAV4 electric that could haul 4 or 5 people unlike the EV-1 which could haul 2 people.
So what is Toyota's excuse for cancelling their electric car program? So hybrids would sell better (thanks to the U.S. gov't and states in the form of income tax breaks and automatic HOV lane usage)?
Toyota has a better product for hauling more people and they cancelled, does that speak any volumes to you what-so-ever?
And Toyota owns a majority share in Panasonic which produced the longest life batteries ever to go into an EV-1. What have they done since in all electrics? Toyota is GM of decades ago, believe me.
Go do your homework, we need to up our test scores.
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Lithous 11:03AM (9/13/2006)
Correction - I meant to state that Toyota owns a majority stake in the Panasonic division which produces batteries for automotive use.
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Marc 3:28PM (9/13/2006)
Lithous, any chance to bash Toyota....
Toyota cancelled their electric car program like everyone else did for the same reason, economics. They are no more guilty or innocent than anyone else. Go see "Who Killed the Electric Car."
But one thing Toyota did better than the other mfrs was allow RAV4 EVs to remain on the road. You can still see them in Cali, and they can continue to be serviced at Toyota dealerships.
It was shortsighteed of them to cancel the EV program as soon as they did, but at least they are taking what they learned and applying it to new applications that are selling like hotcakes. In the next few years watch for Panasonic/Toyota batteries to be cheaper, lighter and more efficient, and watch for for plug-in hybrids. But you'll still find something to comlpain about.
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Lithous 8:44PM (9/13/2006)
You can get GM S-10 *factory* electrics as well. So Toyota isn't the only one to allow a factory electric to stay in consumer hands. They were made in Louisiana.
If you can't see that my response is totally for Daniel and his dumb comment then sorry for you.
If all companies did the same thing equally, you should give Daniel the what-for you gave me. But I guess GM bashing is allowed in your book since you seem to not denounce it.
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