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.
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, stupid."
For companies such as Johnson Controls, Inc., there are opportunities to be had supplying advanced batteries for hybrids and electric vehicles. But where do all those advanced lithium batteries – and the older ones being pulled out today's hybrids – end up? Regulators, environmentalists and media want to know.
If you're planning on investing in a DC fast charger to get your electric vehicle battery 80 percent juiced up in 30 minutes, you might want to stick with your Level 2 charger for a while longer. Korean scientists at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have developed a lithium ion battery that can be recharged 30 to 120 times (!) fast
WARNING to electric carmakers and lithium ion battery manufacturers: it's suggested you stay away from taking equity stakes in each other's companies. Practicing this type of electric-vehicle keiretsu could lead to harikari.
With gasoline prices staying high, plug-in electric vehicles are much better on an energy cost-per-mile basis than traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. The reality is, though, that when we compare lifecycle ownership costs – EV vs. ICE – the hands-down winner are gasoline-powered cars. When consumers can buy a car that gets over 30 mpg highway for something like $20,000, why pay a lot more for a plug-
After years of effort, Boston Power's lithium-ion Swing Power cells will finally find a home inside a Saab chassis. In a roundabout sort of way.
According to a report from Reuters, lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems is dangerously low on cash. The company filed a report just before the weekend with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicating that it "expects to have approximately four to five months of cash to support its ongoing operations."
Too many lithium-ion batteries? That's not something battery makers want to hear, but it's music to our ears. It's also the prediction of Munich-based Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
BMW is more than willing to align itself with other automakers in the race to develop future technologies, including a partnership with GM on hydrogen fuel cells and a deal with Toyota for diesel engines. Late last year, BMW and Sebastian Blanco
Remember the Mindset E-Motion? When last we had news of this Murat Günak creation, the folks behind it (Spirt Avert AG, now known as Mindset Holding AG) were seeking 152 million development dollars at a time when many of the world's major economies were sitting on their posteriors, looking up at the cliff from which they'd fal
When Tesla Motors revealed its pricing and specifications for its 2012 Model S, we couldn't help but notice an interesting peculiarity. The 0-to-60 times and top speeds varied according to pack size and, not only that, the variants with the larger, and presumably heavier, batteries were both quicker and faster. More oddness? The 40-kWh pack won't be able to take advantage of Tesla's yet-to-be-unveiled high-speed Supercharger network.
A123 Systems has had to lay off 125 employees at two Michigan locations because of Fisker's lengthy delay getting the Karma luxury plug-in hybrid to market. That's the bad news. The potentially good news is that the layoffs may be temporary. Even though Fisker has reduced its 2011 Karma orders to 1,500 units from 7,000, once Fisker is back on track to reach its stated goal of selling 15,000 vehicl
What is perceived as the main barrier to seeing an electric vehicle (EV) in every driveway? Simple: a range that's too short and charging times that are too long. Now, what if a battery technology was developed that would allow you could drive for 500 miles straight and then recharge the battery in 10 minutes? Exactly. There would be a lot wailing and gnashing of teeth by those who just sank billions into tar sand projects and pipelines.
For years, CEO Charles Gassenheimer was the friendly, public face of battery maker Ener1, speaking with AutoblogGreen many times over the years about his company's work with Think and Volvo and others. The company's history was long fraught with difficulty because of the way it was tied to Think and its bank
A123 Systems says it currently has over 20 lithium-ion battery contracts in the works. Of those, A123 says ten of the transportation-related li-ion deals have already entered the production phase and that its "sourced" and "development" contracts call for A123 to eventually manufacture lithium-ion batteries at some as-of-yet-undisclosed date.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an extended investigation into any possible fire risk associated with the lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. The $8.75 million study will last through 2014 and will specifically focus on whether or not the cells can catch fire while being charged at home or when in an acciden
