GM exec speaks on Battery Tech

Dave Barthmuss (alternative fuel vehicles) stated General Motors direction on the new Volt plug-in electric car:

"The question is how quickly can that battery technology occur. People are saying it can happen between 2010 and 2012. If that happens, we'd love it to happen and the vehicle would be there. But you know there's a lot of unknowns in the battery world that we just don't control. We know that lead acid and nickel metal hydride aren't going to work inside a vehicle. So it's got to be lithium ion."

They have changed their thinking to favoring the Lithium-ion technology.

Of course, they still want 3000 cycles of charging from their batteries.

Larry Cobb

Answer: A123 Systems technology. I'll leave the links to others.

Larry

There is movie titled "Who Killed the Electric Car". I found it very interesting. The movie writers claim that GM bought out the Ovshinsky battery company and then sold it to the oil companies just at the time when Dr. Ovshinsky (sp?) was developing a new replacement for the lead acid battery. I think GM is playing both sides of the fence at the same time.

There are significant hurdles with Li Ion IMO. My personal, non-informed opinion is that a pure Li-Ion system won't work for cars.

They still like to vent, and I know I have do be darned careful with mine when I'm out in the American Southwest. Leaving batteries in the car to roast in 120+ degree outside air temperature is a big no no. The batteries would have to be designed to survive 150, 160, 170 degree fahrenheit temperatures found inside a vehicle sitting out in the sun all day. Then of course we have those who live up in Northern regions who commonly see negative fahrenheit temperatures as a high. While Lithiums like cold better than hot, these extremes definitely make designing a battery system significantly more difficult.

I have a developers kit for these cells. They will deliver 60A and don't go boom if you pound a nail through them!

Larry

there is definitely LiIon technology out there that can survive the rigors of car use. It's just newer and more expensive again But if a car manufacturer were to commit to actually USING any of it, and get in bed with some of hte producers so they could ramp up their production, but the second model year the price difference would be moot.