Toyota confirmed they will use lithium batteries in the 2008 model of hybrids. These will increase the mpg and add the possibility of more battery storage. A test unit they have been using gets 94 mpg. Business Week's March 5 issue has several articles about Toyota. We have three items below. First, a sidebar in which CEO Katsuaki Watanabe confirms that the next-generation Prius (model year 2009, out late 2008 or early 2009) will use lithium-ion batteries. So much for rumors about an early plug-in. The second story contains the opposite of what we hoped for, and logically expected. In an accompanying Q&A (online only) Watanabe promises (astonishingly that the new Prius will have "much higher performance and good mileage per gallon." We interpret this to mean a bit better MPG that drivers need and much quicker 0-60MPG to Prius owners who love the safe handling and pep of the current car. The context is, of course, the national attention to PHEVs getting 100+MPG of gasoline, plus electricity. On the plus side, we were pleasantly surprised when the Toyota website <http://www.calcars. org/calcars- news/694. html> published its poll showing that 39% of respondents wanted PHEVs; a total of 94% wanted PHEVs/higher fuel economy/alternative fuel hybrids and only 6% wanted "higher power output". On the minus side, we were unimpressed by new billboard ads touting Prius as "PRIUS. 60 MILES AND MILES AND MILES AND MILES AND MILES PER GALLON." The billboards have a small footnote, saying EPA Estimated City MPG -- but ads on pumps at independent gas stations show the car with a "60MPG" sticker with no footnote. (The Prius sticker says 50MPG highway/60 MPG city. Until now the company has summarized that as 55 MPG. Soon, with revised EPA tests, the car will probably average around 45-48MPG, which is close to what most drivers experience.) We can supply photos for journalists of the billboards and gas-tank signs. Third is from the main print story "Why Toyota Is Afraid of Being Number One," which is mostly about the company's current push on powerful trucks and its continuing fears of a backlash in the U.S. We excerpt some history on its early hybrids, including the company's relationship with the Sierra Club, and its early successes in Hollywood (this Oscar season somewhat shadowed by PHEVs and EVs). Toyota's Bid for a Better Battery CEO Watanabe confirms that Toyota will develop new lithium-ion batteries for its third-generation hybrids http://www.business week.com/ magazine/ content/07_ 10/b4024075. htm
The latest news updates show Toyota has been testing a plug-in hybrid using double NiMH battery packs just like the single one we now have. This is proven and makes a huge difference. Toyota still says it won't be commercially available until 2010 and first to fleets. To keep the pressure up a China company BYD will make a plug-in hybrid this year. They may import to the US in 2010. GM also says the new batteries lithium they are testing are very good, they are firming up 2010 for the volt E-Flex with 40 mile all electric range. This is turning into a very interesting race. Below is a list from EVworld.com of the many plug-in hybrids ready to plug in. AFV Trinity Saturn VUE [conversion/XH drive] BYD/China F6 DM [pre-production] Chrysler LLC Jeep Renegade [concept] Chrysler ecoVoyager [concept] Fisker Karma [pre-production] General Motors Saturn Vue Green Line [pre-production] Cadillac Provoq [concept] Saturn Flextreme [concept] Chevy Volt [pre-production - introduced 2007 NAIAS] Toyota Prius [production 2010] Visionary Vehicles EVX [concept] Volvo . Volvo ReCharge Concept to Offer 60-miles Electric Range
A lot of companies are bringing out EV / Plugin electric cars. I am aware of only one company actually collecting real-world data from real people globally with their needs and balancing out the range vs. price etc... That company is Toyota. While others are trying to prove that the spec on paper can be build and committing to build a car by the reaction / emotion at car shows is not too wise. A lot of companies make up these concepts without actually intended to put them into production. Sure, their specs are high, looks nice and make a great advertisement to make themselves green. Tell us about the price when they are actually selling. A lot of people also discredit HSD by focusing on the green image. HSD is so popular not because the image. But because it actually delivers the hybrid premium features and advantages.
i hope toyota wil bring lion batteries to the 2004-2010 priusII hsd so you can upgrade your NMH to LION and maybe even a plugin
As many of us have experienced with our laptop computers, Li-ion batteries have a tendency to lose their capacity over time. A two-year old battery will often have lost half of it's original capacity. I don't really see anyone claiming that they have solved that problem, which is a big one unless the cost of the batteries comes down dramatically. It's not like with Toyota's NIMH batteries where the problem can be avoided by keeping the state of charge within limits.
Ford has some plug-in Escapes rolling around in some test-fleets for electric companies, so Toyota is not the only one.
These problems have been completely solved by companies like Altair and A123 using nanotech electrodes which are much more immune to calender or cycle induced dendrimer formation (the reason for old-skool lithium battery ageing). The Altair cells can go 15,000 cycles of fast (10 minute) 100% discharge with no apparent ageing or loss of capacity. You won't see these batteries emerging in your laptops or cell phones any time soon, as they are more suited to automotive use, not small appliances (ie they are oriented for power and safety, not light weight and run time).
I thought Ford is doing with it's Fleet customers only in US. Toyota is letting CA residents do the actual driving with the study under UCLA(?). Smiliar study is going on in France, etc...
A year ago there was speculation that Toyota would introduce lithium batteries in the 2009 model year, which would hit the streets near the end of 2008. A few folks saw the 2008 date and mis-stated that as the 2008 model year. But apparently the program has been pushed back a year (2010 model year, actual date near the end of 2009) and there's still no guarantee of that. What's certain is that at some time in the not-too-distant future NiMH batteries will be replaced by something better. Very possibly lithium. Maybe even safe LiFePO. Some day ultracaps may replace batteries. Those have no intrinsic limitations on charge and discharge rates, or operating temperatures, or problems with overheating. They do have the risks associated with explosive discharge in the event of a failure of the dialectric or of the external control circuitry. There are always risks when you store a large amount of energy in a small space, whether it be gasoline, batteries, or capacitors. What's much less certain is when a PHEV will become available to consumers and who will be the first to bring one to market. I'm hoping it's Honda or Toyota. GM is making all the noise, but Toyota might possibly beat them to it without the noise.
The dramatic advantages of LiFePO as demonstrated by Altair and A123 etc are what has prompted Toyota to revise their lithium rollout schedule completely. If they had continued with the planned cobalt based lithium from partners Panasonic EV, they would have been at a major disadvantage to their LiFePO using rivals. The whole R&D department at Toyota is now in a mad scramble to try to catch up with LiFePO technology. As for when Toyota will use lithium-ion in any vehicle, it's worth noting that they have already been doing it for years with the Japan-market only Vitz mild-hybrid.
I don't think they put all their eggs in the cobalt based chemistry. Toyota was also working with Manganese based chemistry from the Fuji Heavy Industry.
I'm glad to hear this. I don't mind waiting a year or two for Toyota to bring lithium to cars for the U.S., if it means using a vastly safer chemistry. Tesla better start delivering Roadsters to customers before their battery chemistry becomes completely obsolete!
Please see this thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-news/27863-lithium-shortage.html All due respect to Wayne's figures but he's wrong. My reply is at the end of the thread.
And several others pointed out that your article is in error because it ignores huge lithium reserves in Australia and Chile.
I beg to differ. Please download the MRI report. Australian reserves are of the silicate compound of Li. USGS Mineral Yearbook will confirm this. Only the carbonate form may be used in Li batteries. Chilean reserves are quoted directly from the USGS survey so there is no miscalculation there. Furthermore, Tahil figures in Ultimately Recoverable Reserves. USGS Reserves Base still takes into account economics while Tahil calculates the geological availability. This inflates the figure to a nebulous 58 MT, in stark contrast to Reserves Base of 6 MT of carbonate. With the conservative projections in the MRI Report, this is still insufficient. If you've a bone to pick with errors in the report, do contact the Institute. From the figures provided, replacing 11% of global car production with Li powered EVs/hybrids in 2004 would have required DOUBLE the production capacity that year. Further inspection reveals that the quoted production figure is of silicate and carbonate form. The doubling of capacity is therefore a very conservative estimate, as was the estimation of needed Li battery output.
