Posts Tagged ‘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…

Priceless? Hyundai lifetime hybrid battery guarantee nontransferable

Price premium for that lifetime battery guarantee?

Just a hybrid marketing ploy?

Last month we covered Hyundai’s lifetime Sonata hybrid battery warranty that guarantees that Hyundai will replace the lithium-ion battery pack in the Sonata hybrid and recycle it, if needed. Then, however, we weren’t sure if that warranty would be transferable.

Unfortunately, the warranty is not transferable, but it’s still a good industry standard that other automakers should follow, as long as it doesn’t affect pricing. 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…

Possible Chevy Volt garage fire not due to the Volt

Fire worries no reason not to buy a Volt.

According to multiple preliminary reports

The Chevy Volt has been associated with several fires, but the evidence suggests more and more that the Volt is not the problem. Yes, lithium-ion batteries in vehicles like the Volt are combustible, but so too are gasoline engines.

And, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is still investigating a Volt fire, a previous garage fire involving the Volt was not caused by the Volt. 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…

Can lithium make a stand, without tax credits?

The revolution is waiting, but is lithium ready?

Can lithium push hybrids beyond 3 percent?

Lithium, lithium, lithium. Is it all just hype?

When Toyota decided not to use lithium in the 3rd gen Hybrid Synergy Drive and the 3rd generation Toyota Prius, it was hard not to be disappointed. It’s obvious that NiMH isn’t the future of the battery vehicle, whether plugged-in or not, but it seems almost equally as obvious that today’s lithium batteries aren’t any more up to the task. Read more…

Toyota’s 600 mile battery. Did everything just change?

Are today's lithium batteries already obsolete?

Or is the battery space full of disruptive potential?

For many years now Toyota has been working on a number of advanced battery technologies. Yesterday, Toyota announced that they are going to try to commercialize one of these new technologies — a solid state lithium battery capable of 621 miles of range — sometime between 2015 to 2020.

So, what does commercialize really mean? Did everything about the hybrid and plug-in space just change? Read more…

If NiMH is so outdated, where is the lithium-powered Prius-killer?

Toyota's hybrid sales don't matter because they use NiMH

Any hardcore battery-powered business plan HAS to include hybrids

Through the next decade, even through 2030, numerous analysis — including that by the plug-in friendly Obama Administration — demonstrates via a preponderance of evidence that hybrid cars will outsell plug-ins for decades.

Sure, a breakthrough could change everything, but until then, the idea that NiMH is an “old” battery technology that needs to be replaced with lithium just isn’t supported by reality.

If lithium provided a hybrid battery that was SOOOO much better, then why hasn’t an automaker put forth a Toyota Prius-killer considering the long term sales potential of hybrids? Read more…