(source: www.eetimes.com) Battery developer claims hybrid car advance George Leopold EE Times (10/17/2006 1:45 PM EDT) WASHINGTON — A battery developer is claiming its technology can extend the range of hybrid electric vehicles. Technology Research Laboratories Inc. (TRL, Research Triangle Park, N.C.) claims its battery technology can extend the range of hybrid electric vehicles to 75 miles or better per charge. The company claims its battery operates on physical chemistry principles different from conventional lead-acid batteries, and is made almost entirely of carbon and plastic materials. The company said it is initially targeting the "plug-in" hybrid-electric car market which has so far failed to mesh gears due to unreliable and expensive power sources. Battery disposal also remains an issue. TRL claims its testing showed that a four-passenger electric car be powered by less than 1,000 pounds of its batteries and could travel up to 100 miles on a single charge "depending [on] speed and road conditions." Total usable energy is 25 kW/hour, TRL said. Battery life, weight and cost have combined with a lack of battery charging capacity to slow consumer acceptance of electric cars. TRL is claiming a weight power density for its battery technology of up to 80 W per pound with continuous use and up to 200 W per pound at peak use. Volumetric energy density was about 2 kilowatt hours/feet3.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ceric @ Oct 17 2006, 02:12 PM) [snapback]334058[/snapback]</div> I'm not a real battery expert, but I think this is more spin than anything. It might be an improvement on lead-acid batteries (of which several approaches are being made, Google the Firefly graphite approach for instance). Compared to Li-ion, it has about 1/3 the KWh per volume, likewise not impressive per pound, altho I'm sure it's much better than lead-acid. Hybrid/EVs aren't looking at lead-acid, so unless this is a lot cheaper than li-ion, I don't think it will fly, at least for the EV market. And the reason for "slow consumer acceptance" is nothing more than slow consumer availability. Build it and they will come.
agreed... as we've seen on here, most people who buy Prii are willing (or even eager) to get their hands on a PHEV. We're just waiting for Toyota to catch up to our demand (and yes Darell, we know your demand is even more )
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Oct 17 2006, 04:50 PM) [snapback]334148[/snapback]</div> I won't be one of the 'early adopters' of a plug-in vehicle simply because I live in a townhouse condo in New Jersey and wouldn't have anywhere to plug it in. The infrastructure for parking-lot plug in stations would have to exist first for me. It would be great if I could do my usual 'weekend errand run' with shorts trips between multiple stops without ever having to run the gas engine!
1000 pounds of batteries? Sheesh, the Prius currently only has 100 pounds. I don't think I want to add 900 more pounds to my Prius! :blink:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ml194152 @ Oct 19 2006, 12:20 PM) [snapback]334895[/snapback]</div> The max load for Prius is 845 pounds (occupants + luggage). :angry: Ken@Japan
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeannie @ Oct 17 2006, 05:27 PM) [snapback]334214[/snapback]</div> I'm the one the early adopter market is aimed at. I'm a home owner with a garage. I can plug it in at night. After enough of us buy them the charging stations will start to appear. Locally, Kyocera has already built a "Solar Grove" over their company parking lot. It wouldn't take much to modify it so that the cars parked underneath are both shaded and get charged while their owners are at work. Things will expand from there until there are charging stations at shopping malls and other convenience locations for those without garages. Look for charging stations connected to a Starbucks coming soon to a corner near you.
This battery is 4 times the weight of lithium-ion, so has no place in a PHEV. However, given the safety and very long claimed cycle/calender life, it would be great as a home energy storage unit (for those home-owners making their own electricity and relying less on grid power or making money from load leveling).
