New Electric Car Battery Cuts Weight by 40%

Electric cars are quickly overcoming the hurdles of cost and range anxiety, but one area that still needs improvement is the added weight of big battery packs. UK-based Cenex has just completed a two-year project to reduce both the weight and cost of EV batteries, succeeding by shaving 99 pounds, or about 41% of the weight off a standard EV battery, reports Green Car Congress.

Cenex also achieved a 63% reduction in the cost of non-cell battery components, and ultimately the company hopes to enable mass production of lower weight and cost battery packs. Cenex made these weight and cost savings by eliminating the need for wires and screws in the power pack, massively reducing the number of battery components; in two similarly-sized 4 kWh modules, the EV-Lite battery project used just 196 separate components, compared to over 800 in a conventional battery pack.

Cenex also developed an innovative safety feature which isolates individual cells in case of a fire, and the team derived five different patents for their efforts. Considering that the average EV battery is complicated, costly, and in the case of the Tesla Model S, can weigh upwards of 1,300 pounds. Reduce that by 40%, and you just shaved over 500 pounds from the curb weight of the Model S, which would mean more range and better driving characteristics.

Lighter batteries have a lot of benefits, and once automakers overcome the bugaboo of weight, we should start seeing some really long range EVs.

Source:  Cleantechnica

New Battery Boasts 7 Times More Energy Density

Imagine a lithium-ion battery that packs 7 times more energy per kilogram than any battery available today. How would that change the future of electric vehicles?

Just last week, we reported on a conversation with  Mitsuhisa Kato, Toyota’s head of research and development, who complains that the batteries available today are simply not good enough to make EV’s a credible choice for most buyers. Kato said it will take a “Nobel Prize winning battery” before EV’s go mainstream. Toyota, Honda and the Japanese government have made a major commitment to hydrogen fuel cell cars instead.

This week a research team at the University of Tokyo School of Engineering has announced a new lithium ion battery that packs seven times more energy density – at 2,570 watt-hours per kilogram – than current lithium ion batteries. The team, led by Professor Noritaka Mizuno,  adds cobalt to the lithium oxide crystal structure of the positive electrode, which promotes the creation of oxides and peroxides during the charge/discharge cycle. In addition, it promises significantly faster recharge times as well.

Isn’t it ironic that the “Nobel battery” Toyota’s Kato referred to may have been invented by a team of Japanese scientists? For a more detailed technical explanation of the of the new battery, see the report first published in Nikkei Technology.

Of course, this breakthrough is still in the experimental stage. Energy dense lithium ion batteries will not be on the shelf at WalMart any time soon. But if the claims for the new battery prove valid, expect to see the struggle between EV’s and FCV tilt sharply in favor of electric vehicles. Now the range for the new Porsche Cayenne PHEV could be 112 miles instead of 16, and that shiny new Nissan LEAF could go over 500 miles on a full charge instead of just 73. And the Tesla Model S would be able to drive some 1,855 miles before needing to be plugged in.

Maybe now would be a good time for the folks at the University of Tokyo School of Engineering to find space for that Nobel Prize?

Source: Gas 2.

New Lithium-Ion Battery Uses Peroxide To Boost Energy Density By 7 Times: Report

Chevrolet Spark EV at CCS fast charging station in San Diego.

All electric vehicles currently in production use some form of lithium-ion chemistryin their battery packs.

Finding ways of improving that chemistry is therefore very important--the aim being to make future electric car batteries cheaper, more stable and more energy-dense for longer range.

Researchers from the School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo have found a way to develop a lithium-based battery with seven times the energy density of current lithium-ion batteries, according to Nikkei Technology.

This has, at least theoretically, each of the major benefits you'd expect should it be introduced in production form--lower cost, greater capacity and increased safety.

Led by Professor Noritaka Mizuno, the team have used a new material on the positive electrode in the battery, formed by adding cobalt to the lithium oxide crystal structure. This aids an oxidation-reduction reaction during which peroxides are produced, and electrical energy is generated.

The researchers claim energy density of 2,570 watt-hours per kilogram. That's actually a little less than the theoretical density of lithium-air technology (3,460 Wh/kg, and a current leader in lithium battery developments) but as a sealed design it's more stable (and therefore safer) than lithium-air.

The team also proved that there are no unwanted byproducts in the battery's acceptable charging and discharging cycle--no excess oxygen or carbon dioxide is produced during the reactions.

Tests at the university have also shown it's possible to repeatedly charge and discharge the battery at a large current, boding well for faster charging.

In theory, at least. As with all current battery research projects, there is still some way to go before the technology can be applied in a practical format--one that could be used in electric vehicles.

While the team mentions no apparent drawbacks, such a concept would require more thorough testing before it's applied inn the real world. As ever though, it's evidence that battery technology is still progressing behind the scenes--and that one day, electric cars should be able to travel much further on a charge.

Source: Green Car Reports

Nissan LEAF Replacement Battery Priced At $5,499

Replacement batteries for the Nissan LEAF electric vehicles are now available through authorized Nissan dealers. The price is $5,499, including a credit of $1,000 for the return of the old battery, and trading in the old battery is a requirement of purchase.

The new batteries are the same as those used in the 2015 LEAF and incorporate everything Nissan has learned since it first brought the LEAF to market 4 years ago. It also comes with a new warranty of 8 years/100,000 miles. Known as the “lizard battery”, it takes advantage of internal changes that make it more tolerant of high temperatures. Some customers living in hot climates have complained that their batteries have degraded rapidly and Nissan has taken steps to address those concerns

While Nissan is supposedly working on a 150-mile range version of the LEAF, these batteries are rated for 84 miles per charge. Owners of 2010-2012 model year cars will be required to purchase an adapter kit to retrofit the new batteries to their cars, and there is also an installation charge set by the dealer for the exchange. The process requires about 3 hours to complete.

Now that Nissan has established a price for the replacement batteries, it is possible to calculate the cost per kilowatt hour, which works out to be $270/kWh. That number is considerably lower per kWh cost when the LEAF was introduced in 2010, so greater volume is in fact driving down the cost as anticipated.

The company is finalizing the details of a financing program to make the purchase of new batteries affordable for owners, and Nssan expects the monthly cost under that program to be about $100 per month.

Source: Nissan

Will There Be Enough Batteries For Tomorrow’s Cars?

The age of  hybrid and electric automobiles is truly upon us, with more than 100,000 such cars added to American roads just last year. In 2013, worldwide capacity for automotive lithium-ion batteries stood at 4,400 megawatt-hours. By 2020, production could increase by more than ten times that amount to over 49,000 megawatt-hours,  according to a report from Navigant Research.

Says David Alexander, senior research analyst at Navigant:

“Li-ion technology continues to improve, as increased energy densities translate into smaller and lighter battery packs with more power. At the same time, leading battery cell manufacturers have built new factories utilizing the latest production techniques, including greater automation and faster throughput. This will lead to a reduction in the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) over the next few years, provided that volumes continue to increase.”

Those rosy predictions aside, demand for electric cars is exploding and the batteries they require are typically bigger and more powerful – up to 80 kWh – than those found in plug-in hybrids, where 4 to 16 kWh batteries are the norm. Will there be enough batteries for everybody? And who will produce them?

Once Tesla’s gigafactory gets up and running, it should be able to manufacture a half million units a year – enough for about 50% of the anticipated worldwide demand in 2020. With the value of the total battery market approaching $25 billion annually by then, plenty of other companies will be vying for that business as well, which means supply should be more than adequate for industry needs in the near term.

But that leaves two questions unanswered. What about technological change in battery technology? And how does the world recycle all those lithium-ion batteries?

One answer may be the cotton battery, which is more environmentally friendly, charges 20 times faster and runs cooler than lithium-ion batteries. Plenty of other research programs around the world are going flat out to develop new battery technology as well. Will the Tesla gigafactory be able to keep pace with changes in the field?  Or will it wind up building batteries that nobody wants?

No one knows the answers at this time. But with $25 billion a year at stake, we can be sure that the pursuit of that market will be intensely competitive. Check back with me in 5 years. Chances are the solutions of the future haven’t even been thought of yet.

Source: Gas2