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Editorial: Henderson's fuel cell 10X cost comments are out of context

The other day we reported on an interview with General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson published in the Washington Post. While most of the discussion focused on the bailout and bankruptcy, from the perspective of this site, the main items of interest were Henderson's responses to questions relating the to the cost of the Chevy Volt and hydrogen fuel cells. Much has been made of Henderson saying that the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell used for the Project Driveway program cost 10 times the Volt's approximately $40,000 price. The problem here is that ... Read more →

Nissan ready to make 500,000 batteries a year when demand is there Sam Abuelsamid

You certainly can't argue with Carlos Ghosn's commitment to battery-powered vehicles. No one else in the auto industry has placed such a huge bet on plug-in vehicles. Renault has committed to four ...

REPORT: Panasonic to follow the Tesla model of laptop batteries in cars Sam Abuelsamid

While the lithium ion battery technology that everyone expects to be at the heart of the upcoming generation of electric vehicles was initially used in consumer electronics devices, only one ...

Nissan to lease LEAF battery for $150/month Sam Abuelsamid

Aside from the issue of limited range, the biggest problem with electric vehicles in the near term is expected to be cost. Mitsubishi has already announced that the starting price for its ...

The economics of electric vehicles and end-of-life battery use Sebastian Blanco

Why does (ok, ok, might) the Chevy Volt cost around $40,000? The main reason the car will cost so much more than a comparable sedan is the 16 kWh lithium ion battery pack running down the floor ...

Japanese companies plan to start recycling used automotive lithium ion batteries 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

According to a report from the Nikkei in Japan (via Hybrid Cars), Nippon Mining & Metals Co. and GS Yuasa Corp. are each planning to begin collecting used lithium ion batteries from hybrid and electric cars to be recycled. Apparently, it's not exactly a straightforward process to extract and ...

Editorial: Absent analyst misundertands what Bill Ford said about batteries 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Here at ABG, we're not fond of sniping with other sites. However, when someone call us out, we feel the need to respond. Such is the case with self-proclaimed analyst Jack Lifton. This past Tuesday, Ford held an event at in Dearborn to announce the development of a vehicle to grid communications ...

REPORT: GM to build its own electric motors, control systems 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Sure, General Motors has outsourced production of the individual battery cells to LG Chem, but the American automaker isn't willing to give up much control over the Volt's extended-range EV powertrain. According to a report on Automotive News (sub. req'd), GM plans to focus in on three EV ...

Obama announces battery grants: Big Three, Michigan, li-ion companies come out winners 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

At the closed and then re-openend Monaco Recreational Vehicle plant in Indiana today, President Obama will announce exactly how $2.4 billion in Recovery Act grant money will be spent on advanced battery technologies and on infrastructure for more electric vehicles. This is a bit more than the $2 ...

Sure swappable batteries would help EV adoption, but are they practical? 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

Battery swapping is controversial subject in the realm of electric vehicles. Many EV advocates favor the concept, but aside from Renault-Nissan almost no other automaker is supporting the concept at this point. A new study conducted by University of California economist Thomas Becker projects ...

At Witz' End - Range Anxiety Q&A 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

There was a lot of feedback (50 comments at last count) to my column on EV range anxiety, some thoughtful and intelligent, some not. The few who accuse me of being anti-electric vehicles, which I definitely am not, were not. Neither were the two (same guys each time) touting the idiotic conspiracy ...

Federal funds quitting hydrogen for plug-ins 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

Back during the Clinton era, Federal funds in the U.S. favored plug-in hybrids research. The money shifted during the Bush administration to hydrogen fuel-cell research. Candidate Obama pledged to have 1 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on American roads in six years, and the DOE's Office ...

Plug In America suggests reducing warranty time to lower cost of Chevy Volt 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

One of the Obama Auto Task Force's findings RE the Chevy Volt was that it will be a wee bit pricey, too pricey, in fact to play a role in saving GM from itself. Plug In America (PIA), the advocacy group for vehicles with a cord, is trying to make the case that part of the problem for the Volt's ...

Ford: don't get too excited about the Fusion hybrid, we may not have enough batteries 10 months ago on Autoblog Green

While understandably excited about the 41 mpg highway city rating the new Fusion hybrid recently achieved, Ford is already throwing a wet blanket on the sales potential of the car, which will go on sale in Spring 2009. According to HybridCars, Ford Americas President Mark Fields said that, "We are ...

Could future Volts get 80-mile batteries? 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Might a second-generation Chevy Volt feature 80 miles of gas-free driving? A high-tech company in Ohio certainly believes so and they hope to have a hand in making it happen. Applied Sciences Inc., located in sunny Cedarville, in a collaborative effort with Pyrograf Products Inc. are using carbon ...

Buying Prius replacement batteries just got cheaper 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The last announcement we have from Toyota this morning is a price reduction on replacement Prius batteries. Both first-gen and second-gen NiMH packs will now be at least ten percent cheaper to replace than before. The new prices for the packs are $2,299 for the 2000-2003 model years and $2,588 for ...

Wisconsin gives Johnson Controls-Saft $500,000 for hybrid battery tech 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The State of Wisconsin will give Johnson Controls-Saft a half-million dollar grant to aid in the development of hybrid battery technology, it was announced yesterday. The grant is part of Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle's Clean Energy Wisconsin Plan, and requires Johnson Controls-Saft to invest ...

McCain's energy plan: let the market decide 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Now that John McCain has been officially enthroned as the Republican party's choice for the window seat in the Oval Office, it's time to look at his proposals for how to deal with this country's seemingly insatiable thirst for energy. As expected, the focus of McCain's plan is to let the market ...

Toyota wonders what comes after lithium? 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Even before its first production vehicle ships with a lithium ion battery, Toyota is already making plans for the next wave of energy storage technology. We expect to see Toyota and Lexus products with lithium ion packs sometime around 2010, and Toyota is said to believe that the technology will ...

Air Force contract to continue work on high energy battery awarded to Electro Energy 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

While Electro Energy is keeping its Gainesville factory busy making the standard 18650 type rechargeable lithium ion batteries, the company has continued to forge ahead in its better-battery oriented research. To that end, they have just announced a "contract award of $750,000 sponsored by Air ...

Phoenix Motorcars to use Electrovaya batteries? 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

In an interesting twist to the saga that is the development of the Phoenix Motorcars electric SUT & SUV program comes news that they are now partnering with a Canadian battery maker. In a press release from that company, Electrovaya says that they are now negotiating an arrangement with Phoenix ...

Ancient Japanese company makes modern lithium ion battery with SILX 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Mitsui Mining and Smelting, a company with roots that go way back in history, is out to make history in the lithium ion battery market. Known in Japan as Mitsui Kinzoku, they are part of the humungous Mitsui Group whose origins can be traced back to a humble miso shop founded more than a hundred ...

"Experts" express skepticism of Volt program's success 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Although the target launch date is still over two years away and there haven't been any major hitches, some consultants are expressing doubts that the GM Volt program will end in success. The "experts" to which I refer are members of the Gerson Lehrman Group Automotive Council who conducted an ...

Battery and ultracapacitor companies get their report cards 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The most important part of an electric or hybrid vehicle is often said to be the battery. With all the breakthroughs in energy storage and the emergence of new companies, it can be a difficult field to keep up with. If you are a potential investor or just a curious onlooker you might be interested ...

Battery breakthroughs abound 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/environment/High_Tech_Battery_breakthroughs_abound'; In an attempt to keep our readers up to date on the very latest developments in technology as it pertains to transportation and the lessening of our carbon footprints, we often burn the midnight oil and labor to ...

Ricardo announces Battery Systems Development Center in Detroit 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

There is much more to building complete battery packs for electric cars and hybrids than most people think about. Sure, cells are available - they are powering the laptop that this story is being written on. Just ask Tesla about taking a few thousand of those batteries and turning them into a unit ...

National Research Council releases Clean-Vehicle Report 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The National Research Council (NRC) has finished conducting research into the possibility of powering vehicles using hydrogen fuel cells and other alternatives. Despite mixed reviews, the report suggests that even without ready solutions to quite a number of major issues, taxpayer-funded research ...

VIDEO: Shai Agassi's speech on the future of electric cars 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Project Better Place, gave an amazing speech at a New Democrat Network meeting recently. Want to know how Agassi's idea for electric cars got $200 million -- the "largest seed round of any venture in history?" Then you have to check out his speech below the fold ...

E-One Moli Energy Corp exhibits li-ion battery for electric vehicles 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Look out, A123. Better dust off your spurs, Saft. There's a new cowboy busting through the bat wings of the electric-car-battery-makers saloon. Yup, the E-One Moli Energy Corp, perhaps better known as the folks who the power in cordless Milwaukee Tools, are jumping into the automotive saddle. ...

AutoblogGreen Podcast #20 - Geneva Motor Show wrap-up 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Episode 20 of the AutoblogGreen Podcast has us recapping Geneva mere days before we head to New York. There were lots of exciting things over in Switzerland, and we touch on a few of them. Th!nk's new Ox will be a Tesla-magnitude achievement if it hits the market doing what the company says it will. ...

Alan Gotcher resigns, Altairnano seeks new CEO 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

According to a press release on Altairnano's web site, Dr. Alan Gotcher has agreed to resign "as an officer of the company." Dr. Gotcher was appointed CEO back in August 2004 and President in March 2005. No reason was given in the release but the language makes it sound like it wasn't his decision. ...

GM battery supplier Cobasys in bad financial shape 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

General Motors has apparently placed Cobasys on their list of distressed suppliers, a move that could be very bad news for some of GM's hybrid programs. Cobasys is the battery company jointly owned by Energy Conversion Devices and Chevron Technology Ventures. Cobasys supplies the nickel metal ...

Toyota: there is "no way" we can sell more Priuses than last year 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Toyota says hybrid sales will be lower in 2008 than 2007, not because people don't want them, but because Toyota simply can't make any more. Bob Carter, general manager of Toyota Division, told Ad Age, that Toyota sold 181,000 Priuses in 2007 and that's simply the best they can do right now: "We ...

North Carolina's NASCAR Governor announces PHEV research center 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

You might expect the announcement of the funding of a plug-in hybrid research center to be boring. Not if North Carolina governor Mike Easley has anything to do with it! The NASCAR governor says, "the Middle East has the U.S. by the tail" and we should "get off the gas and get on the juice." Plug-in ...

Toyota tells Popular Mechanics battery production is the "biggest hurdle" to plug-in cars 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

How high on the list of things keeping us from plug-in electric cars do you put the "quality production of batteries?" According to Popular Mechanics, Toyota puts it right up top, ahead of even battery chemistry. Here is exactly what the article says: A source inside Toyota tells PM that getting ...

Video: Jim Dawson's 80-mile range electric Saturn 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Jim Dawson gives a great tour of his 1994 Saturn SL1 converted to run on electricity for an Illinois public access cable show (you can watch the video below the fold). Jim shows us the insides of his four-door electric car, pointing out all the changes he made and then takes us for a drive. There ...

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