Sanyo seeking new customers for lithium ion batteries
The world's number one rechargeable battery maker is seeking out new automotive clients in an attempt to stay on top of the heap. With its competitor, Matsushita (Panasonic), snapping at its heels with plans to triple output, Sanyo is on the hunt for new contracts from auto manufacturers. Sanyo's nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are already in the Ford Escape hybrid but it is lithium ion where the company will no doubt want to focus its efforts, especially given that companies like Audi seem keen on the newer tech. They are also currently investing billions in that effort.
Using something of a shotgun approach, Sanyo says it's in talks with 5 or 6 different companies on three different continents.They had already been cooperating with Volkswagen on lithium ion batteries for hybrids coming to market in 2010. Volkswagen is also presumed to use that company's batteries for its planned all-electric vehicles as well. In a boast to Reuters, Sanyo Electric Senior Vice President Masato Ito said of their nearest competitor, "By the time Matsushita has raised its capacity to 75 million, ours will be well over 100 million." We can only hope that all this increased investment and battery braggadocio will result in lower prices.
[Source: Guardian]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 12:36PM (8/24/2008)
I'd LOVE and electric Harley Heritage Soft Tail with a 75-mile range at 70-mph highway cruising speed! I could ride my bike without pissing-off my neighbors when I get home at 1:00 am.
No more electric scooters, PLEASE!
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gorr 3:29PM (8/24/2008)
Battery researchs are funded to impede hydrogen infrastruture implementation because all old cars and trucks can be retrofit to run on compressed hydrogen fuel.
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Chris M 7:40PM (8/24/2008)
Battery research is funded to improve batteries, not to "supress hydrogen". Indeed, improved batteries are essential to H2 fuel cell cars.
But battery research doesn't prevent anyone from retrofitting their old car to run on H2 fuel. Why, you could offer Quantum Technology $80,000 or so, and they can retrofit your petrol guzzler with a H2 tank and H2 fuel system! What, not intersted?
But wait, theres more! For that $80,000, you get to double your fuel cost! Yep, H2 only costs $8 to $10 "gallon of gas equivalent" price! What, still not interested?
But wait, theres more! With that $80,000 and doubled fuel cost, you get your miles per tank of H2 fuel reduced to 50 miles or less! Won't that be great, having to stop at the H2 refuel station once or twice every day! What do you mean, it costs too much and delivers too little? Aren't you all enthused about that profitable new H2 fuel the oil companies want to sell you? Come on, get with the hydrogen hype!
gorr 3:44PM (8/24/2008)
Batteries are a nightmare. It will never power diesel tractor trailers
, personnal watercrafts, airplanes, diesel construction machinery, trains, ships. It's a underpowered devise that can only
help boost range and performance of a small limp car like the prius from toyota, forget all the trucks on the road that consume dirty diesel. Hydrogen can replace dirty petroluem in all energy devise, it can too power your house.
Actually hydrogen is used by petrol refineries to clean theirs chimneys that get carbonized by the refining of black ash saturated crude oil.
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Chris M 8:18PM (8/24/2008)
Of course batteries won't power diesels, diesel fuel powers diesels! But batteries do power compact, highly efficient and powerful electric motors, and work wonders in diesel/electric hybrids to improve fuel economy. Several major Truck manufacturers are developing diesel/electric hybrid trucks, including long haul Semi Trucks, for that economy improvement.
The problem with batteries isn't power, its energy. There is no problem getting enough power to drive a truck, as Smith Electric proved, the problem is storing enough energy to go more than 100 miles or so - good for local delivery, but not long haul. Long haul is where the diesel/electric hybrids really shine.
We're not going to see long haul trucks running H2 fuel in their diesel engines, It isn't possible to pack enough of that low density H2 gas onboard to get a reasonable driving range, and it costs twice as much as diesel. Some claim that a tiny amount of H2 can improve fuel economy a bit, but it's sill mostly diesel fuel providing power.
H2 fuel cells are nearly twice the efficiency, so a H2 fuel cell truck would have the same per mile fuel cost as diesel. But the bulk still makes it difficult to get a reasonable range per tank of H2, and the fuel cell alone would cost over a half million dollars each - way outside the affordable price range for any trucking firm.
BTW, Hydrogen is used by the oil refineries to remove sulphur from oil, and to "crack" long chain tars into shorter hydrocarbons suitable for gasoline and diesel. No, hydrogen is NOT used to "clean chimneys", there are much better ways of removing soot - like using a chimney sweep brush!
Serge 10:19AM (8/25/2008)
Chris M. I think "gorr" used to go under moniker "a.brien" with all the wild ideas proposed by that author.
Back to the topic: these moves by big li-ion players are a good indicator that affordable electric transportation will soon be a reality, unlike that hydrogenous pie in the sky.
kert 9:39AM (8/25/2008)
Dude, airplanes already run on batteries, browse around right here on ABG, and lots of trains run on electricty without any batteries and some street trams even use batteries over short distances where installation of overhead lines is too expensive.
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gorr 2:43PM (8/25/2008)
Well a brien don't work anymore in that site so i had to change. I have to change my car too because it consume gasoline that have been hack by ' banks' so hydrogen from a water electrolyser put inside the car can solve all the situation and help depolute, air, water, world economy, internet scams, religion, social activities, car maintenance including oil change that can be strech to 10 000-15 000 miles if the oil is synthetic and the ice power by hydrogen. Im not arguing with anybody here contrary to many chatters here and on each and every chatting site i've seen so far. I repeat what im doing here, in one word that explain everything it's that im shopping for a car i'll be interrested to look for in a sale point. Actually only the eco-fueler is interresting to me but there is more upcoming possibilities if some business can put on the market a car that is a real breakthrough like the one from genepax but way bigger then their first prototype. Im looking something between 150-250 h.p that cost nothing to fuel.
If it's impossible then it's impossible but the thing is , it cost nothing to ask for a product real or unreal. All inventions are impossible before it appear in someone's head. The hardest is not to make an invention appear in my head but to put that invention in someone else head and then after that on the market up to a point of sale at a good price where i'll buy for real my previous idea that i've had in my head. Science have nothing to do with that. What's it all abouth is sharing of ideas put in practice. Then a product corresponding with my visions appear in my nearest point of sale. Im responsable of many discussions occurring right now in engineering departments in regular car manufacturers, i can see a correlation of what they say and decide almost day to day. The conflict is that they think the good idea right on the first time but when they speak to their boss and shareholders and goverment people and other journalists then they discover barriers to their works because other then car engineers don't understand the idea the first time. If they stick with me and repeat and demonstrate more then one time then they will win on the long run. The goal is a car that i will touch with my hands. It's moving the entire world just with that.
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