It's the Batteries, Stupid!

[JRP3]

How external software can alter the internal resistance of a cell escapes me at the moment. I'll remain skeptical as well.

 

[JRP3]

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/07/14/sumitomo-aluminum-celmet-boost-electric-vehicle-range/

The company says the lightweight metal can be integrated into lithium-ion batteries and claims that Aluminum-Celmet's three-dimensional structure forms interconnected, spherical pores that somehow nearly triple battery capacity.

 

[dsm363]

Leading The Charge To Make Better Electric Cars : NPR

We have a book review thread if anyone reads this one.

Where is the thread? I just read this and really liked it. Did you know 7-Up started as a lithium based drink of sorts called "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda"? Learned about that in this book.

 

[vfx]

Where is the thread? .

I looked but did not find. TEG?

 

[TEG]

I didn't find a review of that particular book here.

Here are two old book review threads:

Book Reviews
Book Report: The Car That Could

An 'outside' review of "Bottled Lighting":

The Internet Review of Books: Bottled Lightning
Seth Fletcher on electric cars and batteries - The Washington Post

 

[TEG]

Perhaps VFX didn't mean that "Bottled Lightning" was already reviewed here, but rather suggesting that if someone (e.g., dsm363) reads it they add their review to the old book review thread:
Book Reviews

 

[dsm363]

Thanks. I just posted in that thread. Not really a review, just that I found the book interesting and that it's worth a read for anyone interested in electric cars.

 

[vfx]

Here are two old book review threads:

Book Reviews...

That was it. The general book review thread. Thnks.

 

[Mycroft]

It looks like Ener1 just found a savior and China just got a much needed leg-up in their battery program.

From Reuters: Ener1 Expanding into China Market with Wanxiang Electric Joint Venture

Ener1 (HEV) and Wanxiang Electric Vehicle Co. announced that the Chinese government has approved their joint venture to co-manufacture lithium-ion storage energy systems for the China market.

I think Ener1 was on the fast track to bankruptcy and China has been flopping around with their EV tech.

 

[JRP3]

Interesting study of different potential battery components:
Green Car Congress: Ceder group at MIT analyzes the limits and opportunities of phosphates as Li-ion cathode materials using a Materials Genome approach

 

[vfx]

^^

Buy some now!

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

Software company predicts 25% battery boost will trickle down to vehicles Autoblog Green

I'm still waiting for Tesla Motors' liquid battery cooling technology to trickle down to laptops so that I don't have to replace my battery more often in my laptop than in my car!

 

[JRP3]

Try not fully charging and not fully discharging your battery, just like an EV. Or switch to LiFePO4 instead of LiCo :wink:

 

[doug]

Try not fully charging and not fully discharging your battery, just like an EV.

I plug in most places I use my laptop and thus pop the battery out when it's around 50% SOC. That prevents it from charging fully and also keeps it from getting too warm.

I've been waiting for a while for battery management software on portable devices that not only controls power usage profiles, but also SOC (and rate of charge if that matters). That way you could extend the life of the battery and charge according to expected usage. Something akin to a "range mode" if you're really going to need the device all day, or a "standard mode" if you expect to be able to plug-in in the car or at the office. I believe there are some laptops that have this (though none that I've owned yet).

 

[TEG]

I was working in a lab filled with laptops. They were left on, plugged into wall chargers basically all the time. The batteries tended to last < 3 years even on the "name brand" models.
Keeping the battery at 100% SOC all the time is not good for them... Now they keep running on wall power but pop up warning saying that the internal battery has failed.

 

[Doug_G]

Yeah, I have to conclude that most laptop makers are idiots. They all try to get the "longest battery life" by actually minimizing the life of the batteries. Leave 'em plugged in and they're at 100% SOC at all times, plus they run hot because of those nice toasty Pentium processors. It's no wonder the batteries never last.

 

[Lloyd]

I plug in most places I use my laptop and thus pop the battery out when it's around 50% SOC. That prevents it from charging fully and also keeps it from getting too warm.

I've been waiting for a while for battery management software on portable devices that not only controls power usage profiles, but also SOC (and rate of charge if that matters). That way you could extend the life of the battery and charge according to expected usage. Something akin to a "range mode" if you're really going to need the device all day, or a "standard mode" if you expect to be able to plug-in in the car or at the office. I believe there are some laptops that have this (though none that I've owned yet).

I believe that Dell does control rate of charge based on temperature and SOC on their higher end laptops. Charge is modulated on my M4500, and seems to help maintaim the battery as you state above.

 

[SByer]

Yeah, I have to conclude that most laptop makers are idiots.

Meh - I think they're bending to the will of the market and the average joe consumer is oblivious to TCO. Otherwise we wouldn't have to ban incandescents or incentivize electric vehicles. We have to train people to better recognize that hey, if you don't burn through a battery in a year, you'd actually be saving money. Horse, water, drink.

 

[dpeilow]

Better not tell TG or the oil companies about this: Hacking laptop batteries: A new security threat | Privacy Inc. - CNET News

 

[JRP3]

But newer MacBook Pro laptops, and the MacBook Air, have batteries that are not designed to be replaced by their owners

​

Another reason I avoid Apple products.