Li-Ion automotive batteries in 2008
Originally created on January 01 2008
From claims to reality, it appears the crop of Li-Ion automotive type batteries will hit the market in 2008, I will update this regularly starting with today’s news:
Continental plans to start series production of LiIon batteries in 2008
Posted Dec 31st 2007 6:01PM by Sam Abuelsamid
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid
It appears Continental Automotive may be the first major company to start series production of automotive lithium ion batteries. According to an interview in German Magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Continental CEO Manfred Wennemer announced the company would start series production of automotive lithium ion battery packs in 2008. The article doesn’t say who the cell supplier is or what customer the packs are intended for.
Continental is partnering with A123 Systems as one of two supplier teams producing prototype battery packs for the Chevy Volt program. When Mercedes-Benz announced their mild hybrid system at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, they stated that it would use lithium ion batteries although they didn’t say who the supplier would be. Wennemer said initial production volumes be in the thousands rather than hundreds of thousands, but they expected it to grow quickly.
Toshiba SCiB Battery Breakthrough
Toshiba Corp.’s Super Charge ion Battery, or SCiB, can recharge to 90 percent of its full capacity in less than five minutes and has a life cycle of more than 10 years will begin shipping in March of 2008. Toshiba spokeswoman Hiroko Mochida said. Toshiba, said the new rechargeable lithium-ion battery will eventually be used in hybrid and electric cars.
Toshiba says their SCiB technology is is safe, with low possibility of rupture or catching fire, problems that have certainly have beset some lithium-ion batteries used in laptops. Interestingly, Toshiba’s new battery can also work in temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Centigrade (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit). Anyone that has a car battery go in the middle of winter knows that cold weather tends to hamper battery performance.
“This is a truly innovative battery,” said Toshiba Corporate Vice President Toshiharu Watanabe. The Tokyo-based electronics maker said global sales of the new fast-charging battery are expected to reach 100 billion yen (US$893.7 million; 607.2 million) by fiscal 2015.
Hailing it as “a new energy solution” for cleaner transportation Toshiba plans to initially make the quick-charging Super Charge ion Battery for electric bikes, forklifts, construction machinery and other industrial use, Toshiba said the lithium-ion battery could be used in hybrid and electric cars by 2010, Mochida said. Battery innovations are expected to be key in making hybrid vehicles more widespread, because lighter and easier-to-recharge batteries will improve efficiency. They could also spark mass-produced plug-in hybrids and and even resurrect the idea of all-electric vehicles that use no fossil fuel.
According to Tech-On, here’s how it works: The key feature of the Li-ion secondary battery is that lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) is used as a negative-electrode material with electrolyte with a high flash point and a separator with a high heat resistance. Because of this feature, a thermal runaway is less likely to occur in case of an internal short-circuit, so the risks of burst and combustion are reduced, Toshiba said
“This is a truly innovative battery,” said Toshiba Corporate Vice President Toshiharu Watanabe, emphasizing its potential “in the electronic vehicles markets as a new energy solution.”Most lithium-ion batteries in use now, such as those in laptop computers, require hours to recharge to full capacity, with the fastest ones requiring about half an hour. Toshiba also said its new battery, which is estimated to last 5,000 charges, is unlikely to rupture or catch fire, problems that have beset some lithium-ion batteries used in laptops.
The Tokyo-based electronics maker expects global sales of the new fast-charging battery to reach nearly $900 million by fiscal 2015.
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