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texfly101
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Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 108
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 Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:54 pm Post subject: Iron Phosphate and Nanobatteries |
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Iron Phosphate, one of GM's A123Systems developing technologies is getting a hard look because of the application of nanotechnology. It sure looks promising, along with Altairnano and its nanotech lithium titanate version. Anything that has electron flow benefits from the greater surface area that nanotech assures. I would bet that some application of this will be the way that the future cars wil be powered.
One interesting flip on the hybrids is the battery powering the car and a gas powered generator picking up the slack when needed. Getting the most from a plug in and then using gas only when needed gets past the traditional problem of zero battery power in electric cars.
I think Henry is right in the view that this problem of gas/petroleum can be resolved with technology. It sure fits Shumpeter's creative destruction schema. I had as a stumbling block all the other needs for petroleum, i.e. plastics, chemicals, etc, but have seen that they too, have been the focus of developing technologies where they are finding alternate ways to producs these materials also.
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HenryTo
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Joined: 06 Aug 2004
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Location: Houston, Texas & Los Angeles, California
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| Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for your views, DJ. And good points on the other uses of petroleum. I like your views - but at the same time, consumption by the transportation industry still makes up the majority of the demand, so any advances in battery and transportation technology would go a long way to depressing the demand and price of crude oil. By that point, some of these materials developed by newer processes to compete with petroleum-based products may have a hard time competing. That being said, if we could simply decrease the weight of our current vehicles by 30% to 40% by commercializing carbon composites/carbon nanotubes, etc., then this in itself could decrease our gasoline consumption by a couple of million barrels per day.
In other news, Nissan is now working with the Portuguese government to bring electric vehicles to the country by 2011. Subaru and Mitsubishi Motors also on schedule to bring electric vehicles to Japan by 2009:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12324 |
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diesel
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Joined: 05 Oct 2006
Posts: 311
Location: Australia & New Zealand
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| Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 10:06 pm Post subject: |
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Volvo also has an electric car concept that looks appealing to me.
http://www.gizmag.com/go/7975/
More details on it can be found at www.volvo.com under the passenger vehicle link. They have a trial starting in 2009.
Also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmJTsHcZMFQ
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Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity. - Albert Einstein |
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:34 am Post subject: |
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The lithium-ion battery "war" between the US and Japan is now heating up - as both sides try to develop the "best" technology and get it standardized.
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Japan firms to work out next-gen car battery norms
Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:08am EDT
TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Nissan Motor Co (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), xxx Electric Industrial Co (6752.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and other Japanese companies will work together to set up common standards for lithium-ion batteries being developed to power next-generation cars, the Nikkei business daily said on Saturday.
Under the lead of an organization affiliated with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, nine car and motorcycle makers, six battery makers and utility Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will come up with a draft of the standards covering testing and charging methods, vehicle safety and other areas.
The group aims to pitch its specifications to the International Organization for Standardization with the goal of creating a global standard for lithium-ion batteries, the paper said.
Lithium-ion batteries, commonly used in laptop computers and mobile phones today, are seen as a key component to improve the performance of pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars.
Creating a common standard would help the companies cut development costs and gain an edge over overseas rivals.
Carmakers Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) each have a joint venture to develop and produce lithium-ion batteries for car use with xxx Electric, the NEC Corp (6701.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) group and GS Yuasa Corp (6674.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), respectively.
Major automakers, including Detroit's General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), are in a tight race to bring fuel-efficient, zero-emissions electric vehicles to market as consumers increasingly shun record-high fuel prices.
GM, which is heavily promoting the upcoming Chevrolet Volt electric car, is set to announce next week a partnership with U.S. utilities to prepare for the widespread sale of plug-in electric cars, people familiar with the plans have said. |
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pcoulter
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Joined: 10 Mar 2005
Posts: 41
Location: Ontario, CANADA
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| Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:35 am Post subject: |
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About 2.5kg of cobalt goes into producing every hybrid battery, and supply is limited now that the stocks from the US / soviet arms build ups have been depleted.
OMG is a good way to play this. |
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HenryTo
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rffrydr
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rffrydr
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rffrydr
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| Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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General Motors has partnered with Segway Inc scroll down
Segway on Board! New Dual EV Concept Vehicle Shown
General Motors has partnered with Segway Inc. to roll out a demonstrator that combines the Saturn Flextreme concept car built on GM's global E-flex electric drive architecture (debuted by Opel) with two onboard Segway PT personal mobility devices charged by the car's E-flex battery system. The Flextreme's FlexLoad cargo bay has been configured with ramps to accommodate loading and unloading of the Segways, which themselves have undergone compatibility redesign that includes optimization of tire diameter and track width and refitting with retractable handlebars to fit comfortably in the cargo area. Once fully charged (8 to 10 hours) by the E-flex system, the lithium-ion battery equipped Segway PTs can travel up to 24 miles at an electric power consumption rate of 0.052 kWh/mi (0.032 kWh/km).
http://www.ieahev.org/news/index.html
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rffrydr
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HenryTo
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rffrydr
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:31 pm Post subject: |
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MIT Technology Review on EEStor's technology:
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/21171/?nlid=1267&a=f
| Quote: | EEStor claims that its system, called an electrical energy storage unit (EESU), will have more than three times the energy density of the top lithium-ion batteries today. The company also says that the solid-state device will be safer and longer lasting, and will have the ability to recharge in less than five minutes. Toronto-based ZENN Motor, an EEStor investor and customer, says that it's developing an EESU-powered car with a top speed of 80 miles per hour and a 250-mile range. It hopes to launch the vehicle, which the company says will be inexpensive, in the fall of 2009.
But skepticism in the research community is high. At the EESU's core is a ceramic material consisting of a barium titanate powder that is coated with aluminum oxide and a type of glass material. At a materials-research conference earlier this year in San Francisco, it was asked whether such an energy-storage device was possible. "The response was not very positive," said one engineering professor who attended the conference.
Many have questioned EEStor's claims, pointing out that the high voltages needed to approach the targeted energy storage would cause the material to break down and the storage device to short out. There would be little tolerance for impurities or imprecision--something difficult to achieve in a high-volume manufacturing setting, skeptics say. |
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HenryTo
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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Samsung and Bosch starts Lithium-Ion Battery Joint Venture:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12839
| Quote: | Ener1 CEO Charles Gassenheimer said in an interview, "We can cut the cost of the battery by 50 percent and I believe that can be passed onto the consumer. I also believe that we can bring down the break-even to less than two years, which would obviously be very favorable because that would be within the three-year lease that is a popular choice for American purchasers of automobiles."
Gassenheimer told Reuters that if the price of oil stays around $100 per barrel that a 50% reduction in battery cost would allow buyers of hybrid cars to break even in less than two years as opposed to the seven to eight years it takes to break even now.
Ener1 doesn't believe demand for lithium-ion batteries for the automotive industry will be a problem. Gassenheimer says that demand in Asia and Europe is off the charts. Demand from American automakers is reportedly low, but growing. A breakthrough from the University of Texas at Austin also promises significant reductions in the costs associated with lithium-ion batteries for the automotive industry. |
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