Archive for the ‘Batteries’ Category

There's been growing concern in the green car community about EVs and their reliance on lithium batteries -- specifically that there's not enough lithium on Planet Earth to go around. Thankfully, analysts over at Gerson Lehrman Groups have put those fears to rest (for now). According to their data, even if EVs were manufactured at projected 2015 levels, they'd only require 10% of the lithium produced in 2008, when mines operated at 75% of capacity. Of course, the price of that lithium, should Bolivia get grabby, is another matter entirely. [GLGroup via AutoblogGreen]

Yesterday, President Obama announced $2.4 billion in technology grants to car companies, battery makers, universities, and research facilities across the U.S. During his speech in Elkhart, Indiana, the president stressed the importance of battery development as a way of reviving America's manufacturing sector and reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil. Vice President Joe Biden and several members of the president's cabinet also unveiled grant awards at various sites around the country.

These announcements have been some time in coming. The grant funds were included in the $787 billion stimulus package created by the federal...

Take one 2010 Mercury Milan hybrid, add 7,905 lithium iron-phosphate batteries and untold hours of MIT student labor, and what do you get? A kickin' EV with a 187kW motor that can hit 100mph in about nine seconds and coast for 200 miles before it needs a plug-in. Added bonus: those students have found a way to serve up a full charge in just 10 minutes. Of course, they're powering off a 350 kW source; charging from a standard 110 or 220 plug would be an overnight affair. Also bad: the battery array runs about $80,000. But hey, you gotta start somewhere. [Gas2.0]