battery life

As a company that sees plug-in hybrids as the future, it makes sense that Volkswagen would want to advance the technology needed for these cars. What's less expected is how VW wants to do this: through a new annual "Science Award for Electrochemistry," offered jointly with BASF SE, that any ...

Repeated use of a DC Fast Charge, "Level 3" quick-charge unit negatively affects the long-term performance of the battery pack that powers most plug-in vehicles, right? Wrong, according to Mitsubishi. Officials over at Mitsubishi believe that even daily use of a quick-charge unit won't have ...

Is battery longevity a legitimate concern? You bet it is. With plug-in vehicles, their unproven battery technology could be the cause for constant worry among individuals, first among them the owners. Sure, lengthy warranties are attached to most plug-ins, but are there simple techniques to ...

Hundreds, not thousands. That's the word from Nissan's chief vice-president of global marketing communications, Simon Sproule, who believes that after five years of repeated use, the battery pack in the Nissan Leaf may require some maintenance, but not complete replacement. Nissan states that ...

If you get enough like-minded individuals together, they can accomplish quite a lot. Take, for instance, a group of fans on the MyNissanLeaf forum who wanted a more accurate way to tell how much further they could drive their Nissan Leaf. They accomplished this goal by coding up a device that ...

You may not be able to buy a Fisker Karma just yet, but thanks to MIT you may learn a little bit more about the plug-in's battery life. Back in January 2010, it was announced that the Karma would be using batteries supplied by A123 Systems, which just happens to be an MIT spinoff company. The MIT ...

GM-Volt.com found an interesting patent application from General Motors (filed a year ago) that entertains the possibility of refurbishing worn out lithium-ion battery packs such as the one in the Chevrolet Volt. While the Volt's 8-year, 100,000 mile battery warranty will cover a lot of people ...

In a lab at Ohio State University (OSU), scientists, engineers and experts in the chemical field are studying the effects that time has on lithium-ion batteries. The goal: to discover the "hows" and "whys" behind battery aging. Specifically, why do lithium-ion batteries degrade from repeated use ...

Safety is a common concern as the automotive industry moves towards electric vehicles. In particular, focusing on the potential risks involved with li-ion battery technology is crucial as automakers move away from NiMH packs and towards li-ion storage. Fire is a recurring problem with li-ion ...