lithium ion batteries

There might be a crack in China's domination of rare earth metals – a mud-filled crack, thanks to a discovery by Japanese scientists. Vast reserves of rare earth metals that can be mined cheaply have been found in deep-sea mud on the Pacific ocean seabed. These essential metals are needed ...

Remember the story last fall about workers at battery maker LG Chem's Holland, MI-based plant who were sitting idle? Well, the feds have investigated and the news isn't good. The US Department of Energy (DOE) released an audit earlier this month (PDF) that revealed that not a single production ...

Inventor Elliott Small and the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered how to rapid charge lithium ion batteries without overheating them. Using the new technology, off-the-shelf li-ion batteries used in cell phones, laptop computers and electric vehicles could have their charging time ...

Wanxiang Group's acquisition of lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems has been approved by the US government, according to a statement from the Chinese auto parts maker. Wanxiang's US unit had agreed to pay $257 million for A123's automotive battery business and related assets in a bankruptcy ...

Plug In America has launched a second electric vehicle owner experience survey – this time with the Tesla Roadster. It follows a survey conducted last year among Nissan Leaf owners, which was utilized and acknowledged by Nissan as it dealt with unexpected battery capacity loss reported by ...

A new study finds that automakers will be changing direction when it comes to vehicle electrification – less focus on electric vehicles and more emphasis on hybrids. Industry consultant Dr. Menahem Anderman interviewed automakers and battery makers and is forecasting electric vehicles, plug ...

A European consortium known as SmartBatt believes that something critical and essential is missing for pure electric vehicle technology – battery packs that aren't heavy and bulky. Therefore, SmarBatt's objective is to develop an innovative, multifunctional, light and safe energy storage ...

Would you be interested in an electric car that travels 300 miles on a single charge but its battery costs about 70 percent less than today's packs? It's something to look forward to in the next few years, says lithium-ion battery research company CalBattery. CalBattery has designed a new li-ion ...

Thomas Edison famously said that genius was one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. To get to the heart of what's holding back broader adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), though, it's even better to paraphrase one-time Bill Clinton advisor James Carville: "It's the battery, ...

Toyota owns part of the company, but Suzuki gets the battery. That's the gist of Denso's development of a lithium-ion battery pack that is designed especially for cars with fuel-saving stop-start systems. The 5.5-pound battery pack weighs less because it can capture regenerative energy from when ...