hybrid batteries

The supply of rare earth metals used in the manufacture of nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries and permanent magnet motors that are found in most hybrids has been somewhat uncertain the past few years, what with China's lock on the supply and its recent policy of limiting exports. While there ...

Despite the fact that many of its competitors are racing to introduce lithium-ion-powered gas-electrics, Toyota appears content to stick with NiMH batteries for its conventional hybrids. Toyota, the worldwide hybrid sales leader, ...

Lanthanides. What are they and why do we care about them? Well, lanthanides are rare-earth metals that are a key ingredient in nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. More specifically, lanthanides make up an entire row on the periodic table which includes 15 elements, some of which are utilized ...

As the first batch of Priuses sold in the United States reach their get ready to turn eight in 2009, the battery replacement issue is going to pop up more and more. We noted back in September that Toyota had dropped the price of a new pack a few ...

Click above to enlargeWe recently got on the phone with Dan Squiller from PowerGenix, a company which hopes to "revolutionize the battery industry" with its new nickel-zinc batteries. The firm's batteries will soon make an appearance in power tools and in lawn and garden machinery, with ebikes, ...

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 ...

Nissan isn't the only Japanese auto manufacturer with big plans for batteries. Toyota will open two new battery plants in Japan and expand a third for the production of nickel metal hydride and lithium ion batteries. All of Toyota's current hybrid vehicles use the older nickel-based battery ...

General Motors is moving forward on their plans for a plug-in hybrid version of the Saturn Vue that chairman Rick Wagoner announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Today they are awarding development contracts to Cobasys and Johnson Controls-Saft to create and test lithium-ion batteries. The ...