Latest Updates: lithium ion RSS

• Battery Specialist A123 Systems To Go Public
  Srikant Rajan 07:04:42 am on September 4, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: Chevy Volt, cleantech ipo, electric vehicle, ev, general motors, gm, lithium ion, think

  Lithium ion battery manufacture A123 Systems filed for an IPO for raising an estimated $175 million.The specifics regarding the number of shares , price range were not revealed but A123 systems plans to invest a major chunk of the capital garnered in upgrading manufacturing capability and R&D activities.

  A123 has emerged as a key player in the advanced battery technology  for the EV sector.It has also attracted deals with Norwegian EV manufacturer Think and has also teamed with General Motors for battery packs for Chevy Volt.With such major deals under its belt it may also be possible that A123 could enter into some acquisitions to gain a strong foothold in the booming EV sector.

   

• LPG Powered Hybrid by Hyundai
  Srikant Rajan 11:31:28 am on July 12, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: battery, elantra, electric cars, Hybrid, hyundai, lithium ion

  Hyundai plans to release a different kind of hybrid vehicle. This hybrid variant will be based on the Elantra model and will be the first hybrid to run on a combination of LPG gas and batteries. This variant will be initially available in South Korea . Hyundai is also investigating the feasibility of launch in other regions. Australia looks to be an attractive alternative on account of its developed LPG procurement and distribution infrastructure.

  The technology employed in this variant is a first of all sorts. Despite the existence of LPG and batteries nobody till now thought of putting these two to be used in conjunction. Additionally the batteries in this variant are lithium ion based polymer battery which are superior to lithium ion batteries specifically on account of their high durability.

   

• US Department Of Energy Grants $30 Million to Hybrid Cars
  Srikant Rajan 04:19:11 am on June 13, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: Department Of Energy, electric vehicles, ford, GE, General Electric, general motors, gm, Hybrid, lithium ion

  US Department Of Energy has announced $30 million in funding for development of electric vehicles.This amount would be split in three ways by GM ,Ford,and General Electric(GE).Under his agreement for research GM plans to focus on lithium -ion batteries and battery recharging technology for Electric Cars.Ford will focus on identifying bottlenecks in commercialization of plug in hybrid electric vehicles and GE would work towards dual battery energy storage system and its integration with the EV.Of the three Ford,seems to be making some headway in Plug-in hybrid vehicles with its recent Escape model.

  DOE also plans to a second round of research applications under its PHEV Technology Acceleration and Deployment Activity plan, in July 2008. Considering Toyotas recent decision to build up its battery capacity, this latest effort by the DOE signifies that US is still struggling to get the right  electric vehicle plan. Additionally since conclusive  results are  expected by 2014-2016,makes on wonder is this effort is worthwhile.

   

• Toyota to Boost Production of Electric Car Batteries
  Srikant Rajan 02:45:54 pm on June 12, 2008 | 4 | # |
  Tags: electric cars, honda, lithium ion, metal hydride, mitsubhishi, nissan, prius, toyota

  Toyota , of Pirius fame has set ambitious targets for sale of its new improved variant.Toyota anticipates global annual sales of a million electric cars post 2010.It is presently engaged in a battery venture with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co for production of nickel metal hydride batteries.Additionally Toyota is also planning to increase production of the lithium ion batteries by 2010. President Katsuaki Watanabe of Toyota says  ” We plan to use both nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries, choosing the appropriate option depending on the vehicle “.

  Companies like Nissan, Mitsubhishi, are also engaged in several partnerships to boost production of lithium-ion batteries.The supply of batteries presents the biggest bottleneck for the production of hybrid cars at present.Alternatives like ultracapacitors and fuel cells have not found much favor with car-makers barring Honda,which has replaced a battery in its FCX clarity by an ultracapacitors.

   

   

• Volkswagen Also Goes The Hybrid Route
  Srikant Rajan 05:06:40 pm on May 29, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: batteries, Hybrid, lithium ion, metal hydride, sanyo, volkswagen

  Till the year 2006 German car maker Volkswagen (VW) had been consistent in its decision of not entering the hybrid car segment.Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen, went as far as to say “We are not interested in making cars which don’t make money.”However increasing demand for green products seems to have forced VW a rethink on its strategy. (VW) is partnering with Japanese based Sanyo Electric, to manufacture lithium ion batteries.These  batteries are widely used in a variety of electronic goods such as laptops and also present a attractive alternative to metal hydride batteries,particularly for hybrid cars on account of their high energy density as compared to hydride batteries.Under this partnership,Sanyo aims to produce 15000 -20000 batteries by 2009 and also planned to invest nearly $769 million to expand production capacity by the year 2015.

   

• Viaspace Betting Big on Lithium Ion Technology
  Srikant Rajan 03:29:07 pm on May 21, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: advanced battery, cleantech, hyb, lithium ion, viaspace

  Viaspace Inc is involved in leveraging space and defense technologies from NASA and Department of Defense,USA to develop advanced clean energy generation technology.The company is commercializing  a host of new technologies developed at NASA’s Jet Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech.It is also  engaging in strategic partnerships with contractors,OEM’s to enable widespread adoption of clean technologies.It has recently signed an agreement with a Chinese based company HYB Battery Co. Ltd for global distribution of rechargeable lithium ion batteries.HYB founded in 1999, produces high quality,low cost batteries which are used in portable electronic goods.Its quality parameters have been  audited and certified by major customers,such as Samsung, Tyco, Garmin, Philips, Varta, Foxconn, and CelExpert.Viaspace CEO Carl Kukkonen, expects nearly a 400% increase in sales of batteries in coming years ,specifically in applications  such as power tools, electric bicycles and scooters.