Apr 13, 2009

Better Battery Could Stimulate Auto Sales

During recent congressional hearings concerning America’s troubled automotive industry, much of the criticism lodged against Detroit revolved around the Motor City’s generations-long unwillingness to embrace fuel efficiency. Attempting to change that, President Obama’s economic stimulus and recovery package yokes the nation’s financial future to the potential “green” market. Included in the $787 billion legislation is a $40 billion provision intended to boost energy-efficient and renewable-energy programs, including $2 billion earmarked for advanced battery systems. That has some inventors’ eyes lighting up.

“Lighter, more efficient batteries could hold the key to a more economically and environmentally sound future,” says William Robinson, chairman and CEO of Bellingham, Wash.-based Integral Technologies, a development-stage company that may be in the process of creating a new building block for a better Detroit. “While you can’t change the basics of how batteries work, you can change the materials that are used to create them.”

Integral has done just that, developing a moldable conductive plastic named ElectriPlast, a polymer blend that can be used to conduct electricity. The material consists of small single pellets compounded with metal fibers that, when poured into a molding machine and shaped, may help streamline production of batteries and electronics.

With the new material replacing lead, batteries could be 20 to 30 pounds lighter than traditional ones used today. On average, the company says that most battery components would weigh 80 percent less than standard metal counterparts. That has positive ramifications because decreased vehicle weight translates into lower fuel consumption. A less expensive, more efficient battery likely holds the key to provoking widespread popularity of hybrid and electric cars, which would in turn help the nation curb its dependence on foreign oil.