Mar 13, 2008

Battery Breakthrough?

The automotive world has been waiting for a battery technology advance that will help make electric cars financially viable. Now there are reports that breakthrough might have occurred. Hybrid Technologies, a marketer of lithium-powered products worldwide, has announced the development of a new cathode material that will be incorporated to a lithium ion polymer battery, significantly increasing both operating voltage range and energy density.

The company’s new lithium ion polymer battery will use new cathode material with a “superlattice structure,” which enables it to store more electrical energy than before. This will, in turn, allow electric vehicles using the new battery to be driven over 200 miles compared to the current 120- to 140-mile range. It operates at a wide voltage range of 4.3 to 2 volts. The pure material was produced in-house and has been synthesized at an industrial scale, which is a good thing for potential mass production.

“Our objective is to create the next generation of lithium ion polymer battery that is environmentally non-toxic, safe, less expensive and more powerful,” said Dr. Surajit Sengupta, director of battery R&D at Hybrid Technologies. Next Driving Today News>>