Batteries make EVs go … but it’s not as simple as it seems

There’s no way around it: Electric vehicles are coming. It’s just that what makes them go — batteries — are the rabbit in a horse race. It looks like lithium-ion has a long lead on the other technologies, but it’s a confusing and controversial race.

Global management consulting firm PRTM notes that cutting the cost of lithium-ion battery production “has been broadly discussed as the key enabler for electric vehicles (EVs) to become viable as mass market vehicles in the coming years. It is widely expected that battery costs will need to come down by more than 50% before the total cost of ownership of EVs will approach that of an internal combustion engine.”

[Source & Read More: Smart Grid News]

Tags: Batteries, EV, lithium-ion

Bosch JV to supply battery for BMW’s Megacity e-car

A joint venture between Bosch and Samsung SDI will supply Li-Ion battery cells for BMW’s Megacity project, an EV due in the first half of the next decade. BMW last week announced it would pull out of the F1 circuit at the end of this season, after management decided to focus its efforts on sustainability issues and reducing carbon emissions.

Tags: Batteries, BMW, Business, Electric vehicle, Electronics and Electrical, Formula One, Lithium-ion battery, Power Supplies

Nissan’s new Leaf: An EV and charging stations too

Recognizing that consumers won’t go for battery-powered vehicles if supplying them with juice isn’t cheap and convenient, the company is working with electric utilities, private organizations and all levels of government to set up networks of charging stations. The Leaf is expected to go on sale in the U.S., Europe and Japan late next year.

Tags: Batteries, Battery, Business, Charging station, Electric vehicle, Electronics and Electrical, Energy, Japan, Juice, Nissan leaf, Power Supplies, Technology, Transportation, United States

EV Li-ion batteries more reliable than in IT devices

A Japanese team succeeded in observing the interior of the lithium battery by using the MRI (Magneting Resonance Imaging) technique. Professor Kawamura answers questions about the importance of Li-Ion batteries as energy storage devices, safety risks and how MRI methods can help better understand and improve the technology.

Tags: Batteries, Battery, Electric vehicle, Energy storage, Lithium-ion battery, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Nissan Motor, Technology

Vinod Khosla on why Li-Ion batteries are overhyped

Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and an active cleantech investors, believes that lithium-ion batteries will be eventually replaced if costs do not go down or oil prices do not go up. But Khosla Ventures is still backing the technology because the “lithium-ion markets are here today and there are good markets.”

Tags: Batteries, Business, Khosla Ventures, Lithium-ion battery, Silicon Valley, Sun Microsystems, Technology, Vinod Khosla

TH!NK and ENER1 launch new joint business stream

The first integrated EV drive-train of its kind has been developed by TH!NK (the pioneering Norwegian EV manufacturer), with EnerDel (the US-based lithium-ion battery subsidiary of ENER1) being the sole supplier of its industry-leading lithium-ion battery technology.

Tags: Batteries, Business, Electric car, Electric vehicle, Electronics and Electrical, Lithium-ion battery, Nissan Motor, Power Supplies