It's the Batteries, Stupid!

[theBike45]

" In 1999, General Motors used NiMH batteries in the EV-1 electric vehicle, giving the car a range of 140 miles."
Sorry,but the EV-1's battery pack wouldn't go 100 miles, let alone 140. And that battery pack cost a bloody fortune,
and weighed a ton, making the car impossible to sell - GM could only lease the EV-1. Poor cold weather battery power
of the EV-1 limited it to use in Southern California and Arizona. When it was cold the car was dangerously slow, even
during early morning California temps. It only had room for two passengers. A more impractical, inefficient car could
hardly be imagined. NIMH batteries were a dead end.

 

[vfx]

Bike your opinions are welcome. Please cite your sources.

 

[MDR]

Bike your opinions are welcome. Please cite your sources.

Yes, Bike, do tell. Firsthand experience is my source.


I leased a first gen EV-1 with lead acid batteries, then upgraded to the second gen lead acid. Towards the end of the lease had the opportunity to drive a NiMH car for about six months. These cars were my primary and preferred daily driver, while my poor Accord sat rotting on the side of the driveway waiting for the occasional road trip.


It’s well known that the first gen lead acid batteries had problems. Those cars did suffer from reduced range in colder weather, but the cars acceleration and was still above average and top speed was not a problem. The car was never “dangerously slow”. Range was 60 summer, 40 winter (N. California – low 30's F).


The second gen Panisonic batteries were great. I would get 80-90+ miles on a regular basis. The NiMH cars were even better and good for an easy 100 miles. I’ve personally done over 125 miles on a single charge. These weren’t “EPA test cycle” miles, but real world if not slightly spirited driving.


When I first got a chance to drive the NiMH car I took it out for a range test, almost all freeways at 68-70 MPH with full AC and heat (alternating). That run I did 100 miles with 10 or so left when I arrived home. I’m sure with a less aggressive driving style those cars could have done 140 miles.


I’m not suggesting we go back to NiMH, but it was the best thing going at the time and it did work quite nicely. Sure, the EV-1 was not without its shortcomings and batteries generally speaking are all heavy and expensive. Imagine the prospects of a Lithium ion powered EV-2. I would by one in a heartbeat if given the opportunity.


I just get tired of hearing how “crappy, dangerous, etc” these cars were. I stepped up to see for myself.

 

[JRP3]

Not only that but the NiMH batteries in the RAV4EV's are still running 10 years and 100K later, still giving 100 miles. Bike, is your real name Kent?

 

[Norbert]

As of Dec 2010, IBM is (still) expecting Lithium-Air batteries within 5 years, with an energy-density improvement of 10x compared to today. Apparently confident enough to make this officially one of their "Next five in five" predictions...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/usitcompanytechnologyinternetibm

EDIT: Since the link seems to be temporary, here a relevant quote: [The article's date is Dec 23rd, 2010.]

The US computer giant this week released its annual "Next Five in Five" list of five innovations expected over the next five years.

Among the predictions are advances in transistors and battery technology that "will allow your devices to last about 10 times longer than they do today," IBM said.

Today's lithium-ion batteries could be replaced by batteries "that use the air we breathe to react with energy-dense metal, eliminating a key inhibitor to longer lasting batteries," IBM said.

"If successful, the result will be a lightweight, powerful and rechargeable battery capable of powering everything from electric cars to consumer devices.

 

[towneh]

Out of curiosity, has there been any more development on Si-O (silicon air) batteries at all? It seems that most of the articles are from around 2009, but I would imagine combining those two technologies to be a massive leap by addressing the issue of rare earth materials for the anode and the storage gain of the air catalyst cathode!

 

[John M]

Interesting article...would be nice if it is true.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/a-375-mile-battery-range-too-good-to-be-true/?hpw

 

[JRP3]

According to the GM news release and the Envia press release, the cathode provides twice the energy density of lithium cobalt oxide.

Better density and lower cost, always sounds good.
http://www.torquenews.com/119/gm-secures-right-use-envia%E2%80%99s-high-density-cathode-material

 

[dpeilow]

Toyota develops high discharge capacity Li-O2/CO2 battery Autoblog Green

 

[Lloyd]

Not much use if it is not rechargable.

 

[Norbert]

Squeezing More Energy Out of Batteries - Technology Review

By printing a striped pattern of energy storage materials and highly conductive materials, researchers at PARC are making electrodes that are much thicker than those in conventional batteries. These could increase battery storage capacity by 10 to 30 percent while costing little more to manufacture, says Scott Elrod, director of the Hardware Systems Laboratory at PARC. The technology could also apply to metal-air batteries that could store far more energy than anything on the market today.

 

[Nik]

Self-Healing Li Batteries
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/self-healing-batteries/

As a battery charges and discharges, the anode swells and shrinks. Over time, this cycling causes damage, creating cracks that can interfere with the flow of current and, ultimately, kill the battery.

To counteract this cracking, White embedded tiny microspheres inside the graphite of an anode. As cracks formed in the anode, they tore open the plastic shells, releasing the contents within: a material called indium gallium arsenide. This liquid metal alloy seeped out of the spheres and filled the cracks in the anode, restoring the flow of electricity.

 

[vfx]

Musk bullish on caps.

“If I were to make a prediction I’d think there’s a good chance that it is not batteries. But capacitors,” said Musk at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco on Wednesday.

 

[JRP3]

Seems to me as if there is a good chance it is batteries, since they are already working pretty well, and caps can't even come close at this point. But maybe he knows something.

 

[Doug_G]

The Three Laws of Batteries

Here are my three laws for batteries. I will explain each as we go forward, and I have the bonus Zeroth law in the end, so stick around.

First law. In any battery, energy and power will play against each other; increasing one will lead to the loss of the other.

Second law. Any battery that is widely commercialized will operate at a voltage higher than its thermodynamic stability window.

Third law. Of the four metrics batteries are graded on for a given application (i.e., performance, cost, life, and safety), typically, only two can be simultaneously achieved. If the battery is designed to also perform satisfactorily on a third metric, it will fail spectacularly on the fourth.

The Three Laws of Batteries (and a Bonus Zeroth Law): Cleantech News and Analysis

 

[zack]

The Three Laws of Batteries (and a Bonus Zeroth Law): Cleantech News and Analysis

"I call this the Zeroth law, and it states:

The performance of any battery will fall (just) short of our expectations irrespective of the complexity of the device it is powering."

So true.

 

[vfx]

The Three Laws of Batteries (and a Bonus Zeroth Law): Cleantech News and Analysis

This was a good read.

The guy's blog is wordy but good as well.
This week in batteries (TWiB)

 

[zack]

I was hoping his blog would be about advances in lithium ion batteries and new nanotechnology that is going to lead us to the brave new battery future, but alas, he bored me with his verbiage by the third blog and I'm just going to head out and join a friend at the bar across the street.

 

[zack]

And while waiting for my friend to arrive, I found this wonderful news:

http://www.techtree.com/India/News/New_3D_Battery_May_Charge_Phones_in_Seconds/551-114866-893.html

 

[vfx]

And while waiting for my friend to arrive, I found this wonderful news:

http://www.techtree.com/India/News/New_3D_Battery_May_Charge_Phones_in_Seconds/551-114866-893.html

There are many new nano tech battery posts in this thread (and under solar tech too). It can not happen soon enough.