Another step towards GM's lithium BAS hybrids
Lithium powered in 2010?By the second half of 2010 GM should begin rolling out a few new hybrids with its upgraded BAS mild hybrid system. And the lithium-ion batteries for these new hybrids will be powered by Hitachi.
Today, Hitachi announced that it is planning to significantly increase production of its lithium ion batteries in advance of an expected significant increase in demand. So far, GM alone has already ordered enough cells for 100,000 hybrid vehicles.
Labels: GM, Hybrid Vehicles, lithium battery
posted by Dahcredyns at
9:38 AM
13 Comments:
Oh how I wished we were making the cells in the good old U.S.A. Oh sure the global economy is great but at what cost to all of us. When will be ever learn to stop outsourcing everything to just save a few bucks.
Soon there will be very little manufacturing left in America and then who will buy all those wonderful new cars. A society made up of only the wealthy and the poor doesn't need a whole bunch of new cars.
that's a great topic, tom.
imagine if gas prices had not been so cheap the last few decades and america had been interested in fuel economy. we would have a much more robust battery industry in the US.
subsidized, cheap gas might have been a short term boost for the US economy, but the long term implications have truly stunted american innovation at so many levels its.......well, depressing.
This is good news....
Is GM finally making some adjustments?
If Ford makes more Fusion Hybrids and GM makes a lot of Malibu Hybrids, we could see some serious American conteneders in the Hybrid market. These cars are bigger than a Prius & Insight There could be a real market in America for these cars if gas prices go up.
Better late than never I say.....
I certaninly agree with tomgarven with the idea of making these batteries in the U.S. The profit margin, however, would probably be greater if they weren't, though. (Unions...er...)
smurf-
GM has been working on this new powertrain for quite a while. it definitely has some potential, although battery costs might be an issue for some time. nonetheless, it still bothers me that i haven't heard of the possibility of a compact hybrid from GM using the new powertrain.
eventually, ford and GM both need to tackle the cheap hybrid market in my opinion.
anon-
i agree that unions are an issue, but so too are inept corporate boards and overly compensated executives.
in japan, it's not unusual for execs to take huge pay cuts when companies aren't doing well. too often, in america, it seems we just hire an even more expensive ceo when things aren't going well.
don't get me wrong, i'm not calling for pay limits for executives by any means. i'm just claiming that unions and execs need to be smarter and develop better relationships if US manufacturing is to succeed into the future.
I would sometime in late 2010 LOVE to eb able to say with a straight face " hey i just bought a cool compact hybrid from GM" ha
possible ?? i doubt it really but if they could have ever made a price competitive compact hybrid or super efficient diesel i would have been ok to try it to also keep them alive.
im afraid they are near a spiral :(
Here is a snippet and link to the MIT website on energy regarding a new type of lithium battery.
http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/22926/
"IBM recently announced that it would develop lithium metal-air batteries for the energy grid and for transportation. "Lithium ion is the gold standard, but what can beat it is lithium metal," says Paul Beach, president of battery manufacturer Quallion of Sylmar, CA."
Also has anyone heard anything lately from the company in TX that has some new type of super capacitor [can't remember the name]?
To: Tom Garven
To answer your question "When will we ever learn to stop outsourcing everything just to save a few bucks"?
The answer: When consumers become much more patriotic and more concerned about their local and national economy; rather than saving a couple hundred bucks on a purchase.
Anonymous said...
To: Tom Garven re' outsourcing to just save a few bucks.
The answer: When consumers become much more patriotic and more concerned about their local and national economy; rather than saving a couple hundred bucks on a purchase.
Well said Anonymous. Here is a good example. I am currently shopping for a new mini split air conditioner for my family room. There are NONE manufactured in the U.S. Every single unit is manufactured either in Japan, China or Australia [imagine that Australia]. Oh sure there are units with the names like Westinghouse and other common U.S. manufacturers of PAST but I can't buy American. I am afraid that when Cap and Trade passes [and it might] and energy becomes even more expensive; more and more products we once made in American will be moved offshore. We have become a nation of CONSUMERS, not PRODUCERS. We seem to think trading good paying manufacturing jobs for service industry jobs is a good strategy for our country. Sorry for standing on a soap box here but this kind of stuff really bothers me.
Dahcredyns is also right that for many years we had cheap energy and we made stuff like CARS and LITHIUM BATTERIES. We also had people who were rewarded for innovation instead of just going to work to collect a paycheck. I can remember a day not to long ago you were rewarded with time off, a good parking spot, or other tokens of appreciation for a good idea and the company posted your picture for the world to see. If you did that today you would probably get sued or screamed at for not protecting someone's identity.
For just a moment I want to talk about company bonuses [salary and compensation]. I have received bonuses but ONLY when the company I was working for was making a profit. Automatic bonuses built into the salary structure of a company or to get around the tax code are just plain WRONG in my not so humble opinion. If your company is loosing money you don't deserve a bonus. If you are an Executive and you have one division not doing well you better get it fixed by sending some of your best performers over there to clean house or teach them how to survive in a competitive environment. If you don't do that you had better start looking for a new job. Even AIG during it's crisis had and still does have divisions making money.
Whew, getting down off my soap box now. LOL
Thanks for the interesting information
GM should get a top solar power panel like the toyota prius. but the solar panel is going to be used for charging the batteries instead of the prius powering the fan. i understand that the solar panel are going to just add one drop of juice to the battery. but imagine u leave the car outside all day and u hardly drive it... its gonna help with charging up the battery never the less
Solar power will become a more integral piece of automotive technology as the costs of solar come down. Ultimately, it's all about costs and benefits.
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