lithium batteries

Lithium revolution dependent upon Toyota and hybrid cars

Plug-in Prius too rationale for electrification hype

OPUD: Over-promising and under-delivering the battery-powered future

I find it terribly unsettling how often fans of electrification ridicule Toyota. They don’t even use lithium in their conventional hybrid cars, they claim. As if all the lithium powered mild hybrids, full hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric cars on the market today are dwarfing Toyota’s NiMH-powered sale’s advantage. In fact, if not for Toyota’s NiMH hybrids, there would have been far less cause for other automakers to try to leapfrog Toyota’s Prius with plug-ins like the Volt or the Leaf — which are more halo than sale’s products today.

Likewise, it is often claimed that Toyota’s upcoming plug-in hybrids don’t offer enough electric range, even though it’s beyond obvious that the key to plug-in success isn’t really about range today, it’s about cost.

Even more ironic, it seems quite obvious that the lithium revolution in the automotive space itself has become dependent upon Toyota, at least if it’s going to happen anytime soon. Read more…

Plug-in car focus a cord around energy independence’s neck?

Leaving a lot of foreign oil fighting potential on the table

It’s time to get real about the costs of US foreign oil dependence

In my opinion, ending foreign oil dependence — at least achieving North American independence — is far easier than many might imagine. Ironically, today independence appears even significantly more within reach compared to just a few years ago.

But, it takes real vision to grasp this energy independence potential, but it’s not the seer-like kind of vision that can foresee the technological future some might expect. Rather it takes the vision to simply seize the opportunities available today. Carpe diem! Read more…

Chevy Volt-gate over, at least as for as government is concerned

Volt-gate is over: The Volt is safe.

Neither Volt nor EVs pose greater fire risks

Today the government closed its case on an investigation into Chevy Volt fire risks, announcing that both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as the Obama Administration, consider the case closed following some minor updates by GM to further contain any potential for battery fires following a severe crash.

Perhaps more important, the NHTSA issued some new protocols for first responders, as well as announced that “consumers, the emergency response community, and tow truck operators and storage facilities” need better education regarding the different “attributes” of plug-in vehicles. Read more…

Toyota Prius V: Why NiMH still matters and plug-ins don’t rule

Is it about perception or sales?

Prius V extends Toyota’s battery dominance

The other day I read some commentary regarding all the different cathode technologies being utilized in lithium ion batteries. This variety, it was suggested, demonstrates all the innovation now underway in the battery space, and the commentary concluded that Toyota, stuck on NiMH, was probably focused on the beta of battery technologies.

How absurd, I thought, and the latest sale’s data on the Toyota Prius V just continues to demonstrate Toyota’s major advantage in the battery-powered space. Moreover, the idea that Toyota is dependent upon NiMH technology is provincial. Even Toyota knows NiMH has no future. Neither does the gasoline engine, but that isn’t stopping tens of millions gasoline-powered car sales per year, is it? Read more…

Nissan’s eNV200 and the automotive revolution – It’s a pod, pod, pod

Not enough room and functionality for most Americans? Please

Time for the automotive revolution to evolve

It’s hard to argue that electric cars don’t make sense. Well, aside from costs and range of course. But over time those issues will become less and less relevant. Still, it could be many years, even decades, before an electric car can offer the same range and refueling times as conventional ones — at similar cost.

That’s why I believe the auto — the entire concept of transportation — needs to be reinvented, or at least re-imagined. Doing so would make electric cars far more feasible and far sooner.

And that’s why Nissan’s eNV200 tripped my trigger, if even only a little. Read more…

EVs are awesome, but they can’t save the world. What now?

The Leaf is a great car, but can it really change the world?

Can the world wait for electrification?

I was never much of a car guy growing up. It wasn’t until the first hybrid cars hit the street that autos started catching my attention, especially since code was such a big part of their powertrain, and coming from the software industry, that was compelling. Plus, after 9/11 it just seemed obvious that things needed to change, and batteries and fuel cells seemed so necessary.

For years I didn’t care about any new vehicle technology except those with batteries. I even wrote off fuel cells for a while. Sure I believed they would happen one day, but my focus was today. In that regard hybrids, including those with plugs, seemed the game-changing call to action. Read more…

Taking on the future: Model S versus Volt versus Prius plug-in

Tesla's EV range superstar

A few thoughts about battery strategies

Getting old sure is fun, and funny, especially in terms of technology. As a boy, renting a VCR for the weekend was one of the greatest technological highlights of my pre-teen years. Of course, eventually my family bought a VCR, with no regard to the whole betamax versus vhs debate. Ultimately, the only thing that mattered to my parents was price.

And that brings me to the future of the battery-powered car and the battery strategies being utilized in the Tesla Model S, the Chevy Volt and the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid.

Which is better? Which is smarter? Read more…

A tale of chemistry: Expect more plug-in vehicle uncertainty

Plug-in success is all in the chemistry

More turbulence before real plug-in success

I remember the day I learned that Toyota was ready to switch to lithium for the launch of its 3rd generation Toyota Prius. Now, I thought, hybrid mainstreaming would really begin. Then a few lithium batteries from notebooks and cell phones blew up and not long after, Toyota announced that it would stick with NiMH.

At that time the Chevy Volt was just a concept, but when asked about Toyota’s reversal, GM’s Bob Lutz laughed and countered that unlike Toyota, GM had focused on the right battery technology. Yet now, just a few short years later — and only a few thousand Volt sales — comes word that the Volt’s battery chemistry could be dead. Read more…

Chevy Volt battery fire suggests new mitigation strategies, not panic

A Chevy Volt battery pack.

Neither Volt nor EVs more dangerous than conventional vehicles – NHTSA

Three weeks after undergoing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash tests, a Chevy Volt lithium-ion battery pack started a fire at a NHTSA facility. Consequently, the NHTSA is going to conduct some additional tests on the Volt and its battery pack, while reviewing battery protocols from all EV manufacturers.

Nevertheless, the NHTSA maintains that neither the Volt, nor any other EV, is a greater fire risk than other, non-lithium-powered, vehicles. Read more…

When Chevy Volt battery costs are cut in half, what happens?

A Chevy Volt battery pack

Is the Volt a $30,000 car with a $10,000 battery?

Last I heard, GM is selling the Chevy Volt plug-in at cost. Likewise, GM has suggested that its battery pack costs about $8,000 per Volt, however, soon the Volt should be able to utilize new chemistries and materials to cut the cost of the Volt battery in half.

So, would Volt sales shoot through the roof? Read more…