Toyota: Lithium still too expensive

A plug-in Prius at HybridFest

Since 2006, in the US, Japan, and Europe, Toyota has been quietly testing 126 lithium-powered Prius hybrid cars. In fact, there was a time when a few top Toyota executives announced that lithium would power the third generation Toyota Prius.

Then a few cell phone and laptop batteries exploded. Soon after, Toyota announced that lithium would not power the third generation Prius.

So, is lithium unsafe?

According to Toyota senior staff engineer for batteries, Kazuo Tojima, Toyota's tests demonstrated that lithium's “durability, stability and safety are assured.”

Unfortunately, while lithium also provided "small" fuel-economy gains, the costs of lithium still out-weighed the benefits.

Besides, is there any reason for Toyota to rush into lithium? On the other hand, isn't there every reason for US automakers to rush into lithium?